Cloud Island
by MandalorianHybrid
Summary: Employees come and go in a place like Jurassic World, but some who appear leave a lasting impression. So what happens when InGen sends someone else to look after Owen and his work? Is this going to be another spy for the big wigs breathing down his neck, or are they going to make the job more interesting? M for language and situations in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

_Just something I'm trying. Let me know what you think. Enjoy!_

 **Chapter 1**

Owen and Barry stood on the landing high above the Raptor paddock. The girls weren't oblivious to being watched, but they were happy to go about their own business. Until Owen called them, they knew they were free to be on their own. At the moment, chirps, clicks and rustling bushes were all that gave any indication to where they were.

"So," Owen sighed as he rested his arms against the warm metal railing, "They're sending yet another person to watch us."

Owen couldn't keep the irritation from his words. InGen refused to leave him and his team alone. They were always spouting rules, procedure and protocol. He could respect the thought, truly, but they were worse than the Navy.

"He's a vet." Barry replied, though he didn't sound any happier by the thought.

"What's this guy's name again?" Owen asked.

"Chris Pratt." Barry replied.

Owen scoffed and pushed himself upright.

"Sounds like another asshole."

"Who knows?" Barry mildly teased, "Maybe he'll be a loveable idiot?"

"That's the last thing I need, some jackass giving me a dopey grin, quoting movies all the time and telling me about his awesome band."

Barry chuckled and shook his head. He wasn't surprised Owen was so against InGen sending someone else into their world. They only ever sent people interested in protecting the company's bottom line, not people who cared about the animals and while a vet was a possible exception, their hope was thin.

As they stood above the arena, the sound of a Jeep engine met their ears. The pair shifted in their stance to watch the tan vehicle trudge its way closer before coming to a halt. Barry crossed his arms over his chest while Owen leaned against the railing again. A man jumped out of the driver's side, a woman the passenger's. She headed for the rear of the vehicle while the man hovered around the front. With a glance to his friend, the pair of them agreed to head down and greet their new guests.

When the Jeep came to a stop, the first one to receive their gaze was the driver. He didn't look like a veterinarian, he looked like an idiot. He wore slacks bearing a sloppy crease that had no business being there in the first place in an environment like this. His blue button-up shirt was ill-fitting, pulled too tightly around the chest and gut. The buttons had to struggle to keep it closed. Thank God the man at least wore a shirt beneath it.

From the clip on tie to the loafers and everything in between, this man looked nothing like someone who worked with animals of any kind. He looked like he belonged in a comfy, rolling chair, pushing himself from computer monitor to computer monitor because standing and walking was too difficult.

Owen hated him.

The slamming hatch drew attention. The young woman stepped out from behind the Jeep and headed for them with a tackle box in her hands. She looked like she'd belong a bit better than her counterpart. Owen was fairly certain she was the assistant.

The young woman was shorter than the gathered men, though that was unsurprising considering they all broke six feet. Her dark hair was tied in a loose, wobbly bun at the top of her head, designed to keep it out of her face, but not entirely succeeding. Horn-rimmed glasses hung low on her nose. She had on a pair of jeans smeared in mud –they hoped- and torn along the knees, a simple and equally dirty cotton tee-shirt and steal-toed boots. Along with the outfit, a buck knife was strapped to her thigh and completed the 'outdoorsy' look. She was pretty, too. But wasn't that required of assistants? They had to be hot?

Owen immediately assumed that the young woman was likely the one sent out to deal with the animals while Chris remained safely ensconced in the air-conditioning. Hopefully this would be like the last guy. Hopefully, this would be the first and only time the vet showed himself and he'd leave Owen and his team to deal with their animals without InGen constantly breathing down their necks.

"So," the young woman chimed, "Which of you's the handler?"

The fact that she spoke and the odd accent twisting her words caught them a bit by surprise. Australian, if Owen had to guess. He felt himself glance to Barry and then to the man who remained silent. The driver just stared back with annoyance.

"I am." He said as his eyes fell again to the young woman. "Who are you?"

"Doctor Chris Pratt." She smiled. Her intensely aqua eyes glittered behind the lenses of her glasses as she reached forward with her free hand. "Pleasure to meet you."

Unsure of what else to do and not wanting to be rude, Owen shook her offered appendage.

"Owen Grady."

She gave him a gentle nod before turning to Barry.

"Barry Slone." He said as he shook her hand as well.

"Pleasure, gentlemen." Her smile remained. "Now then, would it be alright for me to see the girls?"

"Sure," Owen found himself agreeing. "This way, doc."

He motioned for her to follow back him up the steps he and Barry had come down upon her arrival.

"Chris," Owen said as they headed up the metal stairs, "That short for Christian, Christine or Christina?"

She smiled lightly to herself at the forced conversation.

"None of them, actually. Name's Christiana." She told him as they reached the top. "Though Chris is just fine."

"Fair enough." He nodded.

When they reached the center of the catwalk, Chris set her tackle box down on the metal grate beneath her feet and trained her eyes to the arena below.

"How much room have they got down there?" she asked with her gaze still on the simulated forest.

"Just shy of an acre." Owen replied. He wasn't rude, but his answers were clipped. He didn't have enough of a handle on Chris yet to be completely comfortable. "Enough to give them exercise and room to move around, but not so much we've got to worry about them hitting full speed or getting out."

Chris was nodding and still looking below. In the distance she noticed a few stalks of leaves within the brush shift, but heard nothing and truly saw even less. The Raptors were nowhere within sight.

"So what is it you're doin' here, exactly?" Owen asked outright. Chris turned to face him and noticed him cross his arms over his chest and lean against the railing without turning his back to the paddock below. "I mean, we take care of them just fine. What's InGen's plan here?"

She cocked a single brow at his rather 'accusatory' statement, but didn't let it dissuade her. Most people didn't like that she worked for the 'Big Bads'. Even though Owen and Barry did too, their leashes were much, much longer than hers.

"I've no idea what their plan is." She admitted, "Truthfully, couldn't care less mate, but I do care 'bout what happens to them." She pointed towards the arena below. "I'm only here to make sure they're happy and healthy."

Owen's eyes darted over her briefly. She seemed to believe what she said, but again, he was simply weary of newcomers. Still, that didn't mean he could stop her from doing her job. One way or another, Chris had to interact with the Raptors and maybe –if she wasn't really who she said she was- they'd scare her off.

"Fair enough." He said. Owen turned to Barry. "Let's get the girls into their pins."

Barry nodded, turned and began to bark orders to the others. Owen stood upright again and gave Chris his attention.

"This way," he said, motioning to the area behind her.

Chris nodded her thanks and followed after him as she was led back to the ground and towards the pins used to hold the Raptors still.

~!~

Within the cage that held the middle ground between the outside and the internal bit of the paddock rested two containment cages for the Raptors. Chris was knelt down with her tackle box opened and in the process of snapping on a pair of latex gloves when the first one was wrangled into containment. She turned just in time to see the head of the Raptor appear within the harness. Her heart fluttered immediately at the sight.

"And who's this, then?" she asked with an air of astonishment as she grabbed her flashlight.

"This is Charlie." Owen replied. He was standing within the cage too and once Charlie was brought in, moved towards her to keep her calm.

Chris approached slowly. She wasn't hesitant, really, just cautious. Owen watched her closely. Chris made sure to stay in the animal's line of sight, but kept her stance unthreatening which he appreciated.

"Shhh, shhh," Chris cooed softly as she approached the animal with her hand outstretched. Charlie still shifted, clicked and growled at being contained and approached by what she considered food, but her struggles began to dwindle. "There we are."

Chris tenderly placed her hand on Charlie's neck just behind the muzzle while Owen continued to stroke the Raptor's head. He saw Chris' face light up with a smile the moment she touched the animal.

"Beautiful," Chris muttered, primarily to herself.

Taking her light, Chris clicked it on. She continued to gently shush the animal as she ran the beam of light over its eye.

"Good," she cooed again. She looked at Owen. "Trade me."

He nodded and together they switched sides. As she had with the left eye, Chris ran the light across Charlie's right.

"Very good." She nodded and moved to the front. Owen cocked a brow when he noticed her shine the light up the Raptor's nostrils. "Pupil dilation is normal and there's nothing blocking the nasal passages. Wonderful."

Chris returned to her tackle box and pulled out a sheet of paper to write down her findings.

"It common for them to get stuff caught up their noses?" Owen asked with a teasing hint.

"Sometimes." She smiled. "Not intentional, of course, but sparring, lunging for food, what-have-you, sometimes a stick or debris of some kind can find it's way in there."

"So… you've picked a dino's nose, hm?"

She looked up from the clipboard she had resting on her knee to see him smirking at her. She couldn't fight her own grin.

"Sometimes." She nodded.

Owen chuckled. The image of someone picking a dinosaur's nose was just funny to him. Perhaps it was his inner ten year old? Either way, a person with their finger up a tric's nose was hilarious.

"So now what?" he asked.

"Height, length, weight and," Chris set her clipboard down and retrieved something that made Owen clench slightly. "Blood sample."

"Hm," he mumbled. "They don't really like needles."

Chris pushed herself up and headed towards Charlie.

"Who does?" she asked rhetorically.

Like before, Chris took the left while he returned to the right and did his best to comfort the animal. Chris spoke gently as she uncovered the thick needle and positioned herself. She glanced to Owen. He seemed to sense what she needed and readied himself for Charlie's inevitable thrashing.

"One, two,"

On three, Chris jabbed the needle into Charlie quickly, but as tenderly as she could halfway down the Raptor's neck where the skin was the thinnest. As they thought, Charlie began to thrash, growl and click again as she fought against them. Both Owen and Chris did their best to calm the animal, but it did little to really help when she was being stabbed.

Chris watched as the syringe filled with blood and quickly withdrew it when she had what she needed.

"There now," she sang softly as she rubbed the spot. It didn't bleed anymore and she didn't expect it to.

Chris headed back to her things while Owen continued to comfort Charlie. She knelt down again and retrieved a glass vile. She stuck the needle through the rubber top, filled it and discarded the syringe. She wrote Charlie's name on the side before setting it delicately within a foam block. Taking her clipboard, she returned to the cage.

There was a small electronic keypad on the side of the harness. Typing in a few buttons, Chris was given the weight and height of the animal. She quickly wrote the numbers down.

"There's a good girl." She finally finished writing and glanced briefly to Owen before returning to her things. "She's good to go."

Owen nodded and gave the order to let Charlie go. Chris gave her attention to the other Raptor who'd been brought in just after the previous.

"And this one is?" she asked as she flipped the page and went to a new sheet.

"This is Echo."

Chris wrote down the needed information like the creature's name and identifying marks so she could learn to tell them apart. Echo was browner than her sister who had faded army green striped along her shoulders. When she had, Chris went through the same motions as she had with Charlie.

Finally came the last two. When Chris saw Blue, she didn't hide her surprise.

"Well, well, well," she smiled as she approached the animal. "Aren't you a looker?"

"This is Blue." Owen said.

"Seems fitting." Chris laughed lightly. "And she is?" she pointed to the fourth Raptor.

"Delta."

"I'm noticing a theme." She teased. Owen chuckled to himself. "All right then ladies, let's get this over so you can be on your way."

Again, Chris repeated the same tests she'd given the previous Raptors and drew blood before telling Owen she was done.

"Don't you need their lengths too?" he asked as the girls were released into their paddock.

"That's what this is for." She showed him something that looked like a scanning gun people used to check barcodes. "Shoots out a beam that I run down the length of the target." she demonstrated it on Owen. "It then calculates the distance to said target, does a bit of fancy mathematics, and," she turned it around to show Owen the measurement. 193.04 shined back at him in red numbers. He shrugged. "Says six foot four, basically." She cleared the numbers. "Though a a lot of that's your boots, I'm sure."

"Not that much." He told her proudly.

She smiled to herself and shook her head.

"Can you get 'em to stand still for a minute or two?"

"Sure." He nodded.

Owen led the way back to the top of the catwalk and called the Raptors to him. He intended to give them mice after their vet visit anyway, and this was a good moment to do it. With her pad in hand, Chris took her measurements from the safety of the walkway while Owen commanded them. It took a few minutes, but she managed to get her information easily enough and once fed, the girl's were dismissed again.

"I appreciate it." Chris said as she finished scribbling on her paperwork.

"How often do you have to come do this?" he asked.

"Not too often." She replied. When she finished writing, she gave him her full attention. "Blood tests about every three weeks, weight too. Those are really the only things that'll change. So, unless somethin' happens in between, you'll only see me 'bout once a month."

"Last guy wasn't this hands on." He told her as he followed Chris back down the steps.

"Last guy was fat 'n lazy." She told him effortlessly. "These animals are s'posed to be looked after more than that, especially since everyday there here is the longest they've ever been in captivity." Chris locked up her tools, grabbed the tackle box and stood with a kind smile. "It's not like there's a precedent for any of this."

"Fair enough." He said with a long nod. "See you next time, then."

"Til next time, Mr. Grady." She agreed.

Chris hopped into the Jeep where her guide was already sitting and waiting. The vehicle was running when she and Owen made it back which let him know the driver was either eagerly waiting to leave, or couldn't handle the heat. Judging by the huge sweat stains now dotting his blue shirt, Owen leaned towards the latter.

A moment later, they were gone.

~!~

Like clockwork, everything three weeks Chris would show up. After the first few times, she'd begun to drive herself. Evidently, the portly man was just another park employee meant to show her the way to the Raptors and once she knew it, she could drive herself.

For months, Owen and Barry got to better know Chris and they began to like her. Owen was particular about who he allowed near his Raptors and he was glad to see that she was simply worried about their health. Most who worked in the park either considered the dinosaurs assets, or attractions. Few realized they were not only animals, but dangerous ones at that, and he was relieved to see Chris was one who shared his point of view. It made it easier to have her come around as often as she did.

It was barely a week ago when Chris had her last visit, but Owen had to call her. Until then, nothing had happened, nothing he couldn't handle and nothing that required a doctor, but this time was different.

For the past three days, Echo had been acting strangely. Owen noticed it when she first tried to eat something. When feeding time had come, Owen always watched to make sure they each got their fair share and it was then he noticed it. Echo was still biting and ripping away chunks of meat before swallowing it whole, but she favored a side. Unlike her sisters, Echo 'chewed' –or the Raptor version of it- only on her left side. He thought nothing of it at first, but the strange behavior persisted and by the third day, she wasn't eating quickly enough to finish her meal before the others swooped in. Something was wrong.

Chris pulled up in the Jeep with a sour expression. Her face was twisted with worry as she jumped out of the vehicle. Owen was making his way down the stairs after supervising Echo being taken into a containment harness.

"What's happened?" she asked with genuine concern. He appreciated that.

"I don't know." He said honestly. Owen opened the cage's gate and let Chris pass through first. She went to Echo's side as she snapped on a pair of latex gloves. "She's not eating like she should."

Chris was nodding as she finished pulling on the thin rubber gloves.

"How so? Is she vomiting?"

"Nah," he shook his head, "She's favoring the left." Chris moved to the right. "I noticed it day before yesterday and kept an eye on her. It almost looks like it hurts and the others are taking notice."

"Have they started taking her food, or turning on her?" Chris asked as she reached for her flashlight and flipped it on.

"Taking the food." He replied. He was surprised by her question, not because it was unfounded, but because she thought to ask. Most people didn't realize that predators will turn on the weakest of the herd. A culling, if you will. "I don't want it to get to that point."

Chris nodded absently. She was listening intently to what he was saying, but focused more on the patient.

Echo and the others were more used to Chris now after months of seeing her on a regular basis, but they also knew she was the one that generally jammed them with a needle. Needless to say, their perception of her wasn't the best.

Echo hissed and curled back her lips as Chris reached for her. Knowing it was meant to intimidate, Chris didn't relent and finally touched Echo's neck.

"Shhh," she whispered softly. Owen took the other side and tried to keep her calm too while Chris examined as much of the creature's mouth as she could. "No needles this time, swee'tart."

As she ran the light along the thin gap between her lips, Chris noticed something strange. It was the way the animal's lip moved near the back. Her brows came together and she leaned closer. The intense look on her face bothered Owen.

"What is it?" he asked as he continued to stroke Echo's neck.

"I don't know." Chris mumbled. With her eyes on the animal, she reached to her side and for her knife.

"Hey," he snapped.

The sudden change in tone caused her to look at him in confusion.

"What?" she asked as her fingers unsnapped her buck knife from her belt. He noticed her remove the entire thing –sheath and all- instead of just the blade. "I need to see her teeth."

Owen shifted on his feet. He'd thought, briefly, that she was going to use the blade. He didn't know why, or what purpose it would even serve, but for some reason it was his first inkling. He felt a little guilty for it afterwards.

Using the leather tip of her sheath, Chris gently slid it into the gap between Echo's lips. She continued to speak softly, coo and do anything else she could to put the animal at ease while she moved the leather bit along.

When she reached the strange area that had caught her eye, Chris used the bit of leather to pull Echo's lip up entirely. As she shined her light into the dino's mouth, Chris saw something that surely caused Echo pain.

"Damn," she sighed.

"What?"

Chris jerked her head to the side, silently telling Owen to join her. He walked around and came to her side.

"Shit," he mumbled disappointedly. "What's that mean?"

"It means she needs to be tranked." Chris replied in the same tone.

Echo's gum was swollen and red. Just above one of her teeth was the tip of something white pushing painfully through said gums.

"And that I," Chris began to reattach her knife to her belt, "Am going to need some pliers."

"You gonna pull the tooth?" he asked despite already knowing the answer.

"Yup," Chris nodded as she headed for her Jeep. Owen followed. "Raptors regenerate teeth if lost or broken. Clearly, the replacement's tryin' to come in early. It's crowding everythin' and causing her pain when she eats."

Owen figured as much. He yelled out the order that they needed to tranquilize Echo and when she was down, pull her out and strap her down again with her right side up. Chris needed to inspect her teeth.

No one was excited about the prospect. Tranking a Raptor was already an uncomfortable experience. They were vicious and angry and strong, not to mention the thing of nightmares, and now they had to handle it. Precautions had always been taken to handle the Velociraptors as little as possible.

"Can you give me a hand?" Chris called from the back of the Jeep.

Owen nodded and headed for her. When he reached her, he was surprised she had so much equipment. It made sense, sure, but seeing the sheer amount she clearly needed was impressive.

"I need ya to take this for me." She said as she handed him a heavy, awkward piece of electronic machinery.

"The hell is it?" he asked when he noticed a screen.

"Portable sonogram." She replied. Chris was busy going through her tools and picking the pieces she'd need. "I need to make sure that lil' bastard isn't muckin' everything else up."

Owen smirked to himself. Apparently, when she was annoyed, Chris' accent was a bit stronger.

His smile faded, however, when he spotted her grabbing something that looked suspiciously like a car jack. His brows came together. Chris didn't notice as she made sure she had everything and slammed the Jeep's hatch shut again.

Together, the pair returned to the paddock. Echo had been tranquilized and was starting to drift. The drugs were fast-acting and the moment her legs gave out, the others moved in. Everyone moved quickly when it came to the Raptors.

Like a choreographed ballet, the staff went to work pulling her out and gently setting her on the thick steal 'bed' they had. It was equipped with all manner of massive, dense clamps that secured the animal. There were three thick pieces of metal that pinned the tail in place, one for each ankle and one across Echo's stomach. Each arm was held down too and another metal chunk secured her neck. They ensured not a single muscle could flinch without being met with resistance.

Chris and Owen were setting everything down behind her when Chris noticed someone trying to strap down Echo's muzzle.

"No," she said quickly. "I need her mouth free."

He gave his boss a horrified look. Owen didn't like it anymore than he did, but the metal strap would cover the portion of Echo's mouth Chris needed. Reluctantly, Owen nodded and his men backed away.

Owen remained nearby and knelt down in case he had to act quickly. Chris didn't notice. She'd worked with predators before and like everyone else, knew she had to move fast, so she did. She turned on the sonogram and immediately began to run it gently along Echo's jaw. The sun was bright and made seeing anything a little difficult. Chris cupped her hand over the screen and the image came into focus.

She found the injury and looked at it closely. Sure enough, the replacement tooth was pushing its way into the pair of teeth already protruding. It was growing at a strange angle because its path wasn't clear and as a result seemed to have pinned the teeth in place. If Chris didn't pull one of them, the replacement tooth would likely emerge from the gum where it was already appearing and create its own problems. Aside from the risk of infection, it was clear Echo couldn't eat comfortably and it was only a matter of time before her sisters took it upon themselves to kill off the weak link.

"They're impacted." She said. Chris knew Owen wanted to hear what was happening. "One of them needs to go."

He watched as she turned off the machine and set it aside before grabbing the thing that looked like a car jack.

"And that's for?" he asked with a tense tone. He didn't want her to hurt his animals.

"To keep her jaw open." Chris replied. "Help me open her mouth, yeah?"

Not enthusiastic about the task, Owen did as she needed. Together, they pulled open Echo's impressive maw. Chris quickly wedged the instrument into the crook of Echo's jaw and began to gently ratchet it into place. She only needed it to hold her mouth open, nothing more.

"Is dat a car jack?" Barry asked. He was the only one willing to voice his immediate concern.

"Modified, but yeah." Chris nodded. "Sometimes, the animals have a tendency to bite down and considering she's got a formidable smile, I'd rather have the bit of security."

After making sure it was in place, Chris grabbed her tools and stood. She stepped around to the other side of Echo, the dangerous side with the talons and claws. To the onlookers' surprise, she got close and nestled herself within the nook of Echo's neck and head.

Among her tools was a pair of thick leather gloves, the kind a falcon trainer or someone who dealt with birds of prey would wear when the bird landed on their arm. She slipped one on her left hand and gave Owen the other. He didn't need to be told to put it on his dominate hand. Owen knew he was going to have to help her hold Echo's head in place and the only way to do it properly would be to put their hands in the animal's mouth. Those teeth were big, serrated, and sharp.

When he had the glove on –a bit too small, but it'd work- Owen hooked his fingers around Echo's jaw from the top where he still sat. Chris then placed her leather-clad palm against the teeth just beside her target. They held securely as Chris placed the tooth within her dental pliers. The forceps were huge and clung to the tooth securely.

Chris yanked, pulled and wiggled the tooth in place. Owen did his best to hold Echo's head still, but it was clear the tooth was being stubborn.

After working on it for longer than she would have liked, Chris finally got some movement. Eventually, and with a sickening pop, the tooth came free. She immediately dropped it, grabbed the wash cloth and shoved it against the bleeding gap.

"There we go." She said with a breathy laugh. Owen relaxed, but only just. He wouldn't be calm again until Echo was on her feet, no longer groggy and walking around the paddock. Chris reached again for the forceps still clinging to the tooth and looked it over. "Impressive." She smiled to Owen. "Gator teeth are for chumps."

He laughed and felt himself nod. He sat back and pulled off his glove while Chris continued to examine the bleeding gap.

After a few minutes the bleeding began to calm and finally stopped. When it had, she threw the soiled towel into her stack of tools and began to clean up. Now, all they had to do was wait for the patient to wake.

As Chris loaded her things into the Jeep, the team took Echo to the holding cell where the Raptors were allowed to recoup and wake from anesthesia in safety. Owen was again standing overhead watching as Echo began to slowly and awkwardly get to her feet. Chris joined him when her tools were secured in the car. They stood together for awhile until Echo was let go back into the paddock. Her sisters immediately began to inspect her.

"Just watch her." Chris said as they watched Echo tenderly walk around and try to figure out why she tasted blood. "They're gums heal fast, but it'll be tender for awhile yet. Just watch her and when you feed her, make sure her food's cut a bit smaller. Less chewing."

"Sure," he nodded. Owen turned to face her. "Thanks, doc."

"Just doin' my job." She smiled. "Call me if anythin' changes. If not, I'll see you in two weeks. Have a good one, Mr. Grady."

He nodded.

Chris suddenly tossed something into the air. He caught it just as she stepped around him and headed for the car. Owen held the white chunk between his index finger and thumb and smiled. It was Echo's tooth. He turned enough to watch the Jeep head back down the dirt road.


	2. Chapter 2

**Let me know what you think, and enjoy!**

 **Chapter 2**

It had been nearly eight months since Chris was assigned as the girls' new vet. She was a welcomed change to the people InGen usually sent as far as Owen was concerned. Chris liked him and Barry too. They were a good people who seemed to care about animals as much as she did.

At the moment, Chris was making her way through the main administration building to her meeting. She had her files in hand and was about as clean as one could be when they spent all day outdoors tending to animals. She hated meetings. They were boring and tedious and did nothing but suck up chunks of time, but they were necessary if she wanted to keep her job.

The elevator she was waiting on finally reached her floor. When the doors dinged and opened, they presented Chris with a face she'd grown accustomed to, but didn't like.

A fake, emotionless smile stretched across Claire's lips with practiced motion. Chris felt herself do the same as she stepped into the elevator.

"Ms. Dearing," Chris greeted as warmly as she could manage. "Good afternoon."

"And you," she said before a hesitation. Chris noticed the ginger glance down at her nametag before speaking again, "Doctor Pratt."

Chris' forced smile turned more so as she fought the urge to comment. She'd been working at the park now for over a year, had multiple run-ins with Claire Dearing, and yet she still couldn't be bothered to remember Chris' name. Rude, just plain rude.

They rode the rest of the short distance in silence. Neither felt like continuing a conversation when it was clear they didn't really want to speak to one another. Instead, the silently judged the other.

Chris couldn't stand how uptight Claire was, from her perfectly sculpted hair to her disturbingly pale wardrobe. She never understood the desire to wear garments that matched one's skin tone or to plan every day of your life down to the minute. She liked structure, sure, but Chris worked with animals for a living. Animals worked to their own plans which meant she had to be a bit adaptable. Something told her Claire would lose her shit if she lost control.

Claire felt herself bathe in superiority as she stood beside Chris and even straightened her back just a bit to let the young woman at her side subconsciously know it. Claire didn't much like people like Chris. They never planned, they never kept to schedules and judging by the smell of musty dirt coming from Chris, they never bathed either. Claire gently touched her nose to try and dislodge the smell of the outdoors from her senses. Chris caught the action out of the corner of her eye. Again, she had to fight the urge to speak.

The elevator came to a smooth halt at the top floor. Together, the pair exited. They walked along the wide, winding halls to the office at the end. Claire's steps were a bit quicker putting her a couple of feet ahead, which Chris gladly gave her. She didn't want to be to close, like the pretention would rub off. Claire just didn't want the dirt to fly from Chris and stain her white shirt.

The doors to the conference room were open. As they stepped inside, each was greeted with the sight of the heads of other departments scattered around the table. Claire took a spot at the end where she felt she deserved to sit and everyone else slowly began to take seats everywhere else.

Barry and Owen had taken the spot adjacent Chris. They looked about as 'made up' as she did for the meeting. Truth was, the three of them and only two others were wearing civilian clothes. Everyone else worked in a building of some kind letting them dress in nice, clean clothes. The rest didn't have that opportunity. Spotting Chris across the way, Owen offered her a smile and a nod of acknowledgement. She returned the sentiment.

These meetings only happened once a fiscal quarter which was more than enough for most of them. Those who were in the field had things to do.

"Good afternoon, everyone!" Claire beamed. She tried to come off as welcoming, but in truth it never seemed genuine. "Now, we have a lot to discuss, so let's get down to it.

The meeting was meant to be a relatively quick overview of everyone's job and how things were going. There were so many people there, the meeting had to move briskly which was what at least half of them were counting on. The problem was, Claire tended to linger. At the moment, however, she was gliding easily through the employees.

"And Doctor Pratt," Claire's voice snapped Chris out of her delirium. She turned to the judging redhead. "How are the assets doing?"

"Well," she replied. Chris gave her file a hefty shove so it could make the journey easily enough at the end of the table. Claire caught it and opened it. "Everyone seems to be doing well."

"And how many assets do you have beneath your care?" she asked. "I can't seem to remember."

She didn't seem to be even remotely interested.

"Seventy-eight." She said. The number seemed to surprise most, but it was simply her patient list. "Between the herbivores in the petting zoo, the pack of Parasaurolophus and the Raptors, seventy-eight was the last count."

"Fine," Claire replied in a clipped tone. It made it even clearer she couldn't really careless, so long as they animals kept breathing.

The Aussie rolled her eyes and sank once more in her seat. How Chris hated the meetings…

Chris was in charge of a large amount of animals, but the truth was, she also wasn't. The list of people trained to handle creatures like the dinosaurs was a small one and because there were so many different species on the island –and many more individuals- each were divided up amongst the veterinarians qualified. The largest took all of the vets working together, but the smaller ones were all divided. Most of the doctors were given a small family from a variety of species to help with diversity of knowledge. Chris didn't know how they planned to keep doing so when they created new animals in the lab every other day, but for the moment that was the layout.

The meeting continued on and soon it came back to Claire. There was an inaudible sigh amongst most of those gathered. Claire always went on a hint longer than anyone cared to listen, even when it was something trivial. It wasn't her fault, per say, but the woman loved the sound of her own voice and showing people just how efficient she could be.

No one knew why she felt the need to elaborate after each person spoke. She even went so far as to tell everyone how they could better do their jobs. No one listened.

Chris had taken to leaning back in her seat and slumping to the side. She was bored and annoyed. Her eyes drifted to the men sitting across from her. She smiled when she noticed them acting the same as her. Owen spotted her looking at them and mouthed an exasperated _kill me_.

She snorted back a laugh that Claire heard. Her eyes darted to Chris just as they dark-haired young woman reached for her cell phone. Claire was immediately put on end.

"Excuse me," she snapped in an agitated tone. Chris' eyes slowly traveled up and to the ginger. "Can you put your phone away?"

"Uh," Chris was temporarily at a loss before thinking of something. "So sorry," she said as she quickly stood, "But I have to go."

"And why's that?" Claire demanded. She crossed her arms over her chest and shifted her weight to one leg. Chris wondered if she thought that made her look intimidating.

"Seems another child's managed to stick a toy in a tric's nose again." She replied. The lie came quickly and would have seemed odd if that same event hadn't actually happened two weeks prior in the petting zoo.

"Well get someone else to do it." She snapped.

Chris cocked a warning brow at the redhead that she didn't seem to notice. After the way Claire had acted in the elevator, Chris didn't hold back. In truth, she just couldn't.

"Well, I'm sorry that this interrupts what I'm certain is an exceptionally well rehearsed speech, Ms. Dearing," the sarcasm was thick enough everyone heard it, "But some of us hand to tend to those assets that bring this park so much money. Now," she even bowed to the irate redhead, "Good afternoon to you."

With a sideways glance to Claire, Chris happily turned to leave the conference room. She almost dared the other woman to say something, but knew she wouldn't. Claire wasn't willing to risk something actually being wrong with one of the triceratops in the petting zoo. It wasn't that she cared really; more that she didn't want to go through the paperwork needed to dispose of and replace the baby animal.

When she gripped the cold metal handle to pull the door closed behind her, Chris caught sight of Barry and Owen. Their eyes wide and expecting. Owen was mouthing something with a tight jaw that she took to mean as some kind of half-hearted threat or possible plea to save them too. She smirked, winked and closed the door behind her.

Owen groaned and sank into his leather covered seat. Propping an elbow on the arm, he buried his mouth in his fingers.

"She just left us here." He mumbled softly so only Barry could hear him.

"M-hm," he replied in the same lackluster tone.

"Remind me to throw her to the girls later."

"M-hm." He said again.

Owen growled his agitation. Claire was still droning on about _influx of revenue_ or something else he didn't care about when Barry's phone chirped loudly. Owen perked and looked to his assistant along with everyone else in the room.

"Seriously?" Claire snapped as he read the text message. "I thought _no phones_ was just common courtesy?"

"I apologize," Barry said quickly and nervously as he began to push himself up. "We have to go. Blue is trying to escape the paddock again."

Everyone in the room was understandably uncomfortable with the thought and silently willed the pair to leave just so they wouldn't have Raptors racing through the streets.

"Shit," Owen sighed as he stood. He looked to Claire and offered a half-hearted shrug.

She immediately glared at him as he and Barry fled the conference room in a quick pace. Neither wanted to risk Claire calling them into the swirling vortex of boring shit they'd just left.

Their pace hadn't slowed until they made it to the elevator. Barry quickly stabbed the button.

"How bad is it?" Owen asked. He didn't have a cell phone and knew important messages had to be sent to his right-hand man.

"What?" Barry asked. It took him a moment to remember. "Oh, it's not." He admitted.

Owen's brows came together. He was confused.

The elevator made it back to their floor and the doors opened with a familiar ding. To their surprise, Chris was leaning against the back of the glass cubicle with a smile on her face when she looked up from her phone.

"Afternoon, gents." She smiled.

"You?" Owen asked as he and Barry stepped inside. Barry was grinning as he pushed the button for the main floor.

"Me," she beamed with pride. "Thought you'd appreciate the reprieve."

Owen let out a relieved sigh and took to leaning against the wall beside Chris. His head fell back. Not only was Blue not trying to escape again –which had happened multiple times before- but he didn't have to spend the rest of the day listening to Claire go on and on about stuff that didn't involve him.

"God knows that woman doesn't know when enough's enough." Chris said with a gentle sigh.

"Tell me about it." Owen mumbled.

Still grinning, Barry glanced at his boss over his shoulder and shook his head.

"You're the one who asked her out." Barry said.

The elevator came to a stop and dinged again the instant Chris let out a loud laugh. Owen eyed her skeptically, a bit surprised by the outburst, as she walked ahead of him. She wanted to control herself, but the thought of someone like Claire and someone like Owen out on a date was too ridiculous.

Owen closed the gap between them with wide, drawn out steps. It was an easy feat considering his long legs- and stared down at Chris with what could only be described as insult. She noticed the expression and quickly bit down on her bottom lip to stifle the giggling fit she was having. It barely had affect at first, but the longer he eyed her, the quieter the laughter became.

"Sorry," she mumbled under her breath. "It's just… really?"

Instead of replying verbally, Owen let out a heavy sigh, shook his head in disbelief and walked faster just to put distance between him and the pair he'd ridden the elevator with. Barry was _still_ smirking.

"I think I've upset him." She admitted with a hint of guilt.

"No worries." Barry replied. "He's only angry because she had the same reaction."

Chris' brows climbed high on her forehead. Her eyes drifted back to the towering man who was weaving through the crowd and towards the door. Now she felt bad –surprised- but bad too. Hysterical laughter from the woman you're asking on a date isn't exactly how you want the question to be received. And she didn't understand why Claire would laugh. Any straight woman –and likely a fair amount of gay men- would be flattered to have someone like Owen ask them on a date.

"Are you coming to the paddock today?' Barry asked as they reached the front doors.

"Yeah," Chris nodded when she snapped out of her thoughts. "Yeah, I'll be there later this afternoon. I've got to stop by my offices first, and I'll be by."

Barry gave her a nod and parted ways with her to return to the other side of the island. Chris galloped lightly down the front steps and headed towards her Jeep, still thinking about what she was told.

Why would someone like Owen wish to date a harpy like Claire? It didn't make sense to her. Then again, perhaps she was biased? After all, Chris never got along with the redhead, not really. They'd just never got off on the right foot. But that didn't truly make sense either. Maybe she was…

Chris paused in the middle of turning the key in her ignition.

Holy shit. She was jealous.

The realization hit Chris like a punch in the face. She was jealous of Claire. What the fuck?! Why… why was she jealous? She pressed her brain to find any reason. Surely it had to be a good one for her to be jealous of someone like… Owen. God damn it, Chris was jealous of Claire because she was going on a date with Owen.

"Son of a bitch," she mumbled to herself within her Jeep.

At some point, somehow, Chris had developed a crush on Owen and she wasn't even aware of it. How could you be unaware you fancied someone? Was that even possible?

Evidently…

Chris groaned and let her head fall against her steering wheel. This didn't bode well for the future. It was unlikely anyone else would be brought in to care for the Raptors since most didn't want the job, and that meant plenty of time around Owen.

"Shit," she sighed. Chris started her car and backed out of the parking lot.

~!~

When she'd arrived later that day, Owen was in the middle of training the girls. Chris joined Barry and a few of the other workers off to the side of the observation area of the paddock and watched him work. The smile never left her lips. How could it? Less than fifteen yards away were actual, real, tangible dinosaurs.

Yeah, it was totally the dinosaurs.

Chris' eyes drifted to the man standing front and center. Owen held a clicker in one hand that civilians used to train dogs and cats while the other was held high as a marker for what he wanted his girls to do. She didn't want her stare to fixate on him or to glance over everything she shouldn't notice.

She shouldn't notice –for example- the fact that his pants were tight enough she could see his thigh muscles and how they moved when he did. She shouldn't notice that without his vest, Chris could see the muscles in his back straining against the thin cotton fabric of his shirt or the way the sleeves struggled to encompass his biceps. She also shouldn't notice his forearms looked nearly as thick as her calves, but twice as toned, or that with his intense stare and the way the sweat glistened on his brow, her heart was pattering away.

Chris felt herself actually sigh a longing breath and immediately cleared her throat to cover it up. Her eyes darted around. Thankfully, everyone was too focused on Owen to see her fawning over him. Instead, she turned her attention to the dinosaurs below.

"Good!" Owen chimed loudly. He reached into a bucket and fished out treats for each of the girls below.

When he'd finished and sent them on their way, Owen turned and spotted Chris among the group.

"Hey," he greeted with less enthusiasm than normal. He was obviously still a bit annoyed with their earlier exchange.

"Hey," she replied as she stepped forward. She moved a little apprehensively and shoved her hands into her pockets as a result. She didn't know if she was embarrassed for ogling, or because she'd laughed in his face only a couple of hours ago.

When she made it to the center of the catwalk and stood beside Owen, her eyes went to the Raptors below who were lingering and watching her too. She could tell they knew why she was there and felt a bit guilty about it. Seeing her put them on edge almost immediately now. But still, she marveled at them.

"They're gorgeous." She said with a light sigh.

And they were. Each of them was so different. Blue, obviously, had the most incredible markings. Honestly, who could ignore the deep, royal blue markings from her eyes to her tail?

Charlie was pretty too. She was striped like a tiger from head to tail with strips of army green and other variations of the muted color. Echo had a more stereotypical camo pattern, but with golden hues that almost glowed in the bright, South American sun. Delta was the 'dullest' of them all, but her markings were no less impressive. Her markings were more like a combination of stripes and the blocky camo pattern, and a beautiful muted green and gray. Each of them was amazing.

"Yeah," Owen agreed as he watched the girls dart around the paddock in search of the pig that had scurried through. "I've almost got them where I need them."

"What you tryin' to do, then?"

"Just focus and listen." He replied. "They do alright, but their focus doesn't last all that long right now. I'm hoping to make it better."

"Establish dominance." She said in a teasing voice that caused him to smile.

"Pretty much, yeah." He nodded. Owen looked to his team in the background. "Get a couple of the girls ready for their check up!" he called over.

He stepped around her and towards the other side of the decking to go downstairs when Chris finally spoke up.

"I'm sorry," she said so quickly it caused Owen to pause and turn to face her, "'Bout earlier." She elaborated. Owen breathed deep, sighed and rested his hands on his hips as he looked away. It was his version of manly discomfort with the subject. "I didn't mean to poke fun."

He looked back at her. His eyes danced up and down as though he was sizing up whether her apology was genuine. When he spotted her concerned expression, he relaxed.

"It's fine." He replied. "Come on."

He waved for her to follow and she did. Chris felt a bit better. In light of the recent epiphany of her crush, she didn't want him to be mad at her for something stupid.

Like every other time before, she went through the motions of ensuring each of the girls was healthy. Echo weighed a few pounds less than she should, but that didn't surprise Chris in the least. After having trouble with her teeth and hesitant to eat, the Raptor was bound to lose a few pounds.

With the tip of her leather-clad knife pulling up Echo's lip again, Chris was able to examine the gap her extraction left behind. It was promising and caused her to smile.

"How's she look?" Owen asked when he noticed Chris' grin.

"Good," she said as she let Echo's lip return to normal. "It's lookin' good. The tooth is nearly filled in completely. Is she eatin' alright?"

"It's getting better." He said as he continued to pat the Raptor's neck. "Smaller bites helped."

"Good," Chris nodded again and made a note of it. "She's a few pounds light, but that should bounce back when she's eatin' normally again."

Owen nodded absently as his eyes went back to Echo. He continued to console her while Chris put her things away. Keeping her calm wasn't completely needed, but he knew they didn't like being stuck with needles and were a little high-strung when Chris came by.

"Can uh," Chris' words drew Owen's eye. She was still kneeling by her tools when she shifted to look up at him. "Can I ask you a favor?"

He nodded apprehensively. Owen wasn't sure what that may entail and her nervous behavior didn't help.

Chris stood and scratched the back of her head as she reluctantly met his stare.

"Can I give the girls their treat?"

Owen's brows climbed. That hadn't been the question he expected her to ask. She instantly took his silent response as a possible no and tried to cover her tracks.

"I mean, I know it's somethin' for the Alpha to do," she began to speak quickly, "and I don't wish to overstep, but I don't want them to associate me with being stuck and locked in these pins all the time."

He listened to her hurried explanation and found himself agreeing with it. While it may run the risk of undermining his superiority, the fact that she would only feed them once a month helped. And she was right. At the moment, the Raptors –being as intelligent as they were- only associated Chris with unpleasant things. Knowing they'd be fed afterwards would go a long way in wrangling them. He wouldn't ever tell her so, but the girls were getting trickier to handle whenever they saw Chris appear.

"Sure," he said much to her surprise.

"Yeah?" she asked with a smirk.

Her child-like smile and how much her face lit up when he agreed made Owen laugh before he could stop it.

"Yeah," he chuckled. "Come on, we'll get you some mice."

Chris eagerly followed after him like a kid rushing to see Santa. When they reached the catwalk yet again, someone brought them another four mice, no rats. Owen gave the word for the girls to be released. A moment later, Echo and Delta joined Blue and Charlie. They gathered beneath their Alpha and awaited the treats he gave after each appointment.

"Okay," Owen said as he handed one of the unfrozen, dead rodents to her. "Just toss it to them, but nice and high. Make sure they see you've got it."

Chris nodded. She grabbed the mouse without a grimace –which honestly impressed Owen a bit- and held it above her head. She made a clicking noise just loud enough to get their attention. The Raptors looked from Owen to Chris and back again. They weren't really sure what to think and it was obvious.

"Echo!" Chris called.

To their combined surprise, the Raptor actually jerked her head to look at Chris. Without hesitation, she tossed in the mouse. Happily, Echo leapt up and ate it. Chris didn't want to risk losing the Raptor's focus when she had it for that split second and capitalized on it immediately. It was the right thing to do. Once Echo gulped down her rodent, her sisters focused on Chris with laser precision and awaited their treats. Chris couldn't fight the childish giggle.

Smirking to himself, Owen handed her the other three. As she had with the first, Chris called the name of the respective Raptor before tossing in the mouse, leaving Blue for last like Owen said.

"Good!" Owen chimed loudly, drawing their lingering attention to his high-raised hand. "And… go!" when he waved his hand, they knew they were dismissed and bounded off like they were meant to. Owen turned to Chris. "Not bad."

Chris couldn't remove the ear-to-ear grin she had plastered on her face.

"That was _awesome!_ " she giggled.

Owen began to laugh. He couldn't help it. He'd never seen her so… giddy. The only way to describe Chris now was giddy. She was smiling so wide it seemed painful and nearly vibrating in her spot. It had been awhile since someone had been so excited to see the Raptors without fear lingering within.

Her phone began to ring and without hesitation Chris answered it. Her face immediately fell.

"Yeah," she sighed. "I'll be there soon."

Hanging up, she slid the phone into her pocket and grumbled under her breath.

"This is what I get for lyin'." She replied dejectedly.

"Something wrong?" he teased lightly as they headed to the ground floor.

Chris turned to him with an exasperated expression.

"A five year old just stuck a baby triceratops –in the nose- with a toy brachiosaur." She told him without the slightest hint of amusement. "I've got to go."

Owen didn't want to laugh, but he did smile. It figured her lie would come true, but he also pitied the poor animal that was assaulted. This was why people shouldn't be allowed to take anything into the pins.

Chris knew the toy was immediately removed the moment the poor baby was jabbed with it, but she had to go and check if anything was wrong. She had to make sure the toy didn't rupture something, or cut up the animal's nasal cavity.

Owen mused lightly that she was going to have to –most likely- stick her finger up a dinosaur's nose.


	3. Chapter 3

**Let me know what you think. Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 3**

Chris was in her office working. She was busy writing down statistics on her tangible files –transcribing them from her field-work scribbles- and inputting them into her computer for corporate.

Meticulous record keeping was something most winced at. It was one of those horrible tasks doled out by the higher-ups most felt was just redundancy, but Chris liked it. She couldn't explain why, but there was something calming about filling in the blanks and she needed up-to-date records anyway. She needed copies and thorough records of her patients for obvious reasons. She had to know everything about them, document every scrape and bruise.

No one had ever held dinosaurs in containment for this long. The first park was a failure; the second never got off the ground and resulted in a T-Rex terrorizing San Diego, so there was no precedent until now. Every day was a new record and while most of the animals were in free-range habitats without fences or walls –despite the implants- some had the stress of visible barriers and those were the ones that needed regular checkups. The free-range animals had the room and less interference. Animals like the Raptors and the babies in the petting zoo had nothing but chances for anxiety. It was for them Chris kept her records as detailed as possible.

As she began to transfer another page of notes to her computer, Chris' phone began to ring. She absently reached for her cell phone and answered it. Pressing it to her ear with her shoulder, she went back to her work.

"Yeah," she answered.

" _Found some of your shit at my site."_

Owen's blurting words and lack of any kind of greeting caused Chris pause. She stopped typing and gave the call her attention.

"I'm sorry?"

" _You left some of your doctor shit at the paddock."_ He said again.

"Damn it," Chris sighed. She'd thought she got everything, though admittedly, she left quickly to tend to the triceratops. "Well," she glanced briefly to the clock on the wall. It was already 8:30 pm which meant the sun was setting. Chris hadn't been to the Raptor site at night before and the jungle to get there was thick. Not to mention it was on the other side of the island. "I'm not certain I can make it out to the enclosure tonight. Not before the sun sets, at least."

" _I'm about to head back to my place. Just pick it up there."_

"I dunno where you live." She told him in a voice dripping with sarcasm. Surely he knew that much.

" _Know those bungalows at the east side of the island?"_

"A bit," she shrugged. She lived close to them, but they were beyond her so she didn't know them well. There was no reason to keep driving after reaching her house.

" _I'm the furthest out, pass the others on the water."_

She grumbled to herself in annoyance. Chris didn't want to go out of her way for the tools she left behind and she _certainly_ didn't want to go to Owen's place in light of her teenage crush, but, at the same time, she didn't have much of a choice. Chris needed her tools.

"Yeah, all right," she finally said. "Give me… a half an hour? Does that work?"

" _Seriously?"_ his voice was deadpan.

"I'm in my office and it takes twenty minutes to get to the housing blocks from here." She defended. "It's the best I can manage, man."

" _Yeah, no, that works. I'll just be cutting it close."_

Her brows came together curiously. Cutting it close for what?

" _I'll see you then."_

She said her farewell and hung up. Chris went about breaking down her work and decided to take her computer home to finish typing everything up.

The Restricted Area took over the majority of the northern quarter of the island, but it wasn't as ominous as it sounded. The acreage was off limits to patrons and visitors, nothing more. While yes, some buildings were off limits to employees without the proper security clearance, the Restricted Area actually held the 'town'.

Some people lived on the island for months at a time. In reality, out of the thousands and thousands of employees, only a single digit percentile called Isla Nublar home. Those who couldn't leave nightly were people directly responsible for animal life, like the veterinarians and a fair portion of the handlers, some security personnel and techs. Engineers were wishy-washy. They really only stayed so long as they were building and then they'd leave, a bit like workers on an oil rig, but everyone else was always on call.

Out of those who stayed on Isla Nublar, shifts had been given. For seven days straight, you were going to work from early morning to late night. Then, you were given three days 'off'. 'Off' was a sketchy term considering you were always on call. If someone needed you, boom, you were sent in whether it was a day off or not. Those three days basically just meant you didn't have to report to work, but you were never truly free.

Most of those who had to live on the island did so for about a month at a time and then went home. Those were the people who had families. It was usually five weeks on, two weeks off. The two straight weeks state-side with your family and a hefty paycheck meant most didn't have an issue with the schedule. Some though, couldn't make it past roughly a year of working on the island. Assuming nothing ate you and barring any other accidents, a year was generally the limit. Psychologically, some couldn't cope.

Chris was among those who didn't have a family to go back to. She had called Isla Nublar home since being hired the previous year. Her only time away was a two week vacation she used to visit the United States. Other than that, she was officially a Costa Rican citizen so long as she retained a work visa.

On the border of the Restricted Area were most of the buildings designated for research and other various purposes. Half of them were in the main building within the park just so tourists could watch, but the others who didn't have a job interesting enough for people to mash their face against glass to spy worked in the buildings in the back. Just pass those and within the 'town' that had been constructed were the basics everyone needed not to go insane, like a small drugstore, a grocery store, bar, restaurants (though that was a loose term) all based out of their own respective trailers. A hotel had also been built to hold three hundred people, employees who had to stay for a day or two for whatever reason.

If you kept following the dirt road pass the little town and around the mountain nestled in the top of the island, vegetation would take over again and people grew slimmer. Hidden within said foliage were random pods that held sick or injured animals, or pet-projects like the Raptors and whatever the hell was being hidden behind the ungodly tall concrete and steel walls.

Beyond that, and around the curve of the island, rested the more permanent housing. It was made up of little more than sporadic clusters of trailers and bungalows. Thank god all of them were actually connected to the island's electricity and plumbing. God knows how awful it would be to have a hundred generators roaring and just as many outhouses. Evidently, Masrani was aware of just how destructive it could have been to have unneeded noises and smells around animals in quarantine at the rear of the island.

Chris trudged slowly down the dirt road. When she was beyond the 'town', she flipped on her high-beams to better see where she was going. Her office was on the west side of the Restricted Area which meant she had to go through the hospital paddocks and pass the road that led to the Raptors too, to get to the bungalows in the distance.

As she rounded another piece of the winding road, Chris caught sight of an off-shoot that led deep into the woods. She'd accidently taken that road once before -mistaking it for the road to the Raptors- and saw the giant holding tank. She was shooed away quickly –lacking the clearance- but she saw the massive structure. What the hell could they need something that big for? What was it meant to hold?

Finally nearing the east side of the island, Chris had to pay more attention. She had to be sure she didn't miss Owen's place. It would have been easy.

She passed the houses closer together, even her own little 'neighborhood' and entered again into the dark. Her brows came together the longer she went without seeing anything. It made her wonder if she'd gone too far and she may need to send out a smoke signal to the man without a cell phone, but then she saw it. Hidden within the trees ahead was a hint of light. If anything, they could tell Chris where to go, so she headed for them.

When she broke through the tree line and made it to the clearing, Chris saw the silver shine of an Airstream trailer. The light she'd seen came from the large, orange bulbs strung around the area. Just in front of the trailer and its add-on was Owen's bike. She was there.

Owen heard the car drive up and stepped out of his house. He walked towards his steps just as Chris jumped out of her jeep. When she spotted his attire, she couldn't fit the skeptical grin that touched her lips. Before she thought better of it, Chris let out a long whistle. Owen held his hands out to the side and smirked as he presented himself to the approaching woman.

"Nice knees." She openly teased.

Owen was standing on his deck in a pair of white board shorts with a large square pattern on them drawn in gray lines. It wasn't a plaid pattern, really, but something similar. The look was topped off with a simple black shirt and matching flip-flops. He looked so comfortable. She was a little jealous since she'd been wearing her tight, now dirty and rigid denim jeans since six that morning.

"Thanks." He continued to grin. "They are pretty sexy."

Chris snorted a laugh. No one thought knees were sexy. No one.

"Anyway," she smiled as she stopped at the base of the steps and looked up at him, "My things?"

"Right," he nodded.

Owen turned and reached for a bundle of stuff on a bench not far from him. After scooping them up, he stepped down the three little stairs and handed them over.

Chris couldn't help but wonder why he called her for this. All she seemed to have left behind was her flashlight, knife and a box of latex gloves. While she would have liked to have her torch and knife, it wasn't _drop your work and come to my house asap_ kind of important.

Still, she was polite.

"Thanks," she replied. "Much appreciated."

"No problem." He said. "Figured you might want those back."

She gave him a little smile and nodded. The two stood there for a moment thinking about what they should say, or if they should say anything at all. For some reason, they were each a bit uncomfortable. They got along just fine during work, but now that they were outside of that environment, both were a little awkward.

"Well thanks again, Mr. Grady." Chris finally chimed. "I'll see you later."

She headed for the Jeep and he followed slowly.

"Call me Owen," he said as she reached her car only a few short yards away. She turned to face him. "Seriously, Mr. Grady's kind of creepy. Pretty sure we've known each other long enough, Doc."

He wasn't wrong. Out of the thirteen months Chris had worked at Jurassic World, she'd been tending to the Raptors for nearly nine of them.

She gave him a smile and nodded.

"Fair enough. And you can call me Chris, ya know."

"I know." He told her with a smirk. For some reason, he just liked calling her Doc.

Shaking her head to herself, Chris opened the door to her Jeep and tossed her things inside just as another pair of headlights shined down the driveway. Owen headed closer to see who might be coming to his house. Yes he was expecting someone, but it wasn't uncommon for people to get lost and have to turn around in his driveway, or for Barry to retrieve him for something. Both of them watched the silver Mercedes pull up beside the Jeep. A moment after the lights went out, the door opened and Claire emerged.

Chris immediately bit back her annoyance. Really, she didn't like Claire.

"Right on time." Owen said as the redhead walked tenderly towards him. She was obviously worried her heels would sink into the dirt.

"Punctuality's important." She told him with her usual air of superiority.

Owen smiled, but it was forced which just made him look a little creepy. As it was, Owen was doing his best not to comment on how rigid Claire's planning always was.

Claire's eyes slowly darted to the young woman who'd remained silent since her arrival. Chris was simply looking from the ginger to Owen and back again.

"Doctor Pratt," Claire greeted in an icy tone.

"Ms. Dearing." Chris returned in the same tone.

Claire cocked a single, annoyed brow as she turned her attention back to Owen. She clapped her hands together, forced her own uncomfortable, emotionless smile and took a deep breath.

"I can wait while you change and get ready." She said. It was clear she was a little annoyed their date would be delayed. Her itinerary only allowed for a few sparse minutes of 'free time'.

Owen's brows came together in mild confusion.

"I am ready." He told her in a deadpan voice.

"Oh." Claire's voice was an octave higher than normal. She looked over him, "Okay, uh… well you look nice."

Chris snorted a laugh that didn't go unnoticed. Clearing her throat the instant their eyes fell to her, Chris did her best to make it seem like she'd coughed, or sneezed.

"Allergies." She lied. Claire's gaze narrowed while Owen rolled his eyes. "Well, you two kiddies have fun now, all right?" she didn't hide her teasing as she leapt back into her Jeep. "Night."

Owen waved heavily to her as Chris backed up and headed back down the road. When she was out of earshot, she let out the laugh she'd been keeping in.

"Oh, she's gonna be fun." She mused to herself.

She continued down the darkened road until reaching the little collection of trailers near her place. She pulled off and parked just as the Mercedes drove by. She shook her head as she exited her Jeep.

The date wasn't off to the greatest start, which brought her more joy than it should have. Chris didn't want to be happy that Owen was about to be miserable, but there was something about it that lightened her mood. Maybe it was somehow relieving her jealousy?

~!~

 **Earlier that Day:**

Owen jogged easily down the staircase to the main level again. He'd just inspected the upper level of the paddock and now had to do the same to the rest of the walls to ensure the girls weren't finding any weak points. They weren't above trying to dig out, and he knew that. That's why the walls had to go ten feet below ground too.

Barry joined him halfway through his inspection and offered a second pair of eyes, which he appreciated. For awhile they walked in relative silence, but Barry had something he'd been wanting to talk about since earlier in the day. Owen seemed to sense as much and finally spoke.

"What?" he asked with a heavy sigh as his eyes remained trained to the fence.

"Tonight is your date, isn't it?"

If he tried to keep the smile from his words, it didn't work. Owen knew his friend was grinning without even having to look.

"Yup," he answered in a clipped tone.

"You don't seem too excited." He said with a knowing grin.

"I'm not a teenage girl. It's just a date."

"With a woman you can hardly carry a conversation with. Why bother asking?"

Annoyed, Owen finally turned to face Barry who kept his irritating little smirk. Why was he always grinning when he talked about Claire and Owen's date? Did he know something Owen didn't?

"She's hot." He offered with a half-hearted shrug. A slow, sly smile began to tug at his lips. "Besides, maybe I can loosen her up a little?"

Barry let out a loud, boisterous laugh and Owen chuckled. He returned his attention again to the fence.

"Or die tryin'." Owen mumbled only to himself before speaking up, "It's not like there are a whole lot of options on the island anyway."

"Your pick of tourists," Barry offered.

"90% families."

"Hundreds of female employees,"

Owen knelt down to check a suspicious bump on the fence wall.

"Married, seeing someone, or _really_ not my type." He replied just as effortlessly as before.

Barry cocked a brow and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Chris."

Owen paused. He shifted on his feet to look up at his compatriot and narrowed his eyes.

"Are you high?"

Barry didn't offer a serious answer to the ridiculous question. Obviously he wasn't, and Owen knew it. At the same time, the handler almost hoped his friend was stoned, or at least suffering from heat exhaustion to suggest something like that.

"No," Owen said as he pushed himself up and dusted off his hands. "I'm not asking Chris out."

He moved by his friend and back towards their office.

"Why not?" Barry pressed. Owen said nothing, but shook his head while he was followed. "She's nice, pretty and the girls like her."

Owen glanced questioningly over his shoulder as he opened the door to their office.

"Okay _Miss Lonely Hearts_." He openly mocked. "Why don't you ask her out then?"

Owen fell into his chair while Barry did the same at his desk across from his friend.

"Because I am not the one she likes."

His attention snapped to Barry. Owen stared at him suspiciously for a moment or two, even going so far as to narrow his eyes. He was waiting for the punch line, but one didn't seem to be coming.

"What?" he found himself asking when Barry didn't elaborate.

Instead of saying anything, the Frenchman went back to his work and continued to muse to himself over Owen's ignorance.

Slowly, Owen fell back into his seat and let his gaze wander as he thought about Barry's declaration. He hadn't been ignorant. He couldn't have been. If there was something Owen was quick to notice, it was any interest from the opposite sex, so how did something like this slip between the cracks? Simple answer, it couldn't have. Barry had to be mistaken. Besides, Owen was an expert in behavior. Of course he would have been smart enough to see any attraction from the Doc.

But, as he thought about it, his mind naturally drifted to Chris. Barry wasn't wrong. She was nice, pretty and the Raptors liked the vet as much as Owen assumed they could with all things considered. He liked her well enough and enjoyed her coming by. If anyone had to take care of the girls, he was glad it was Chris, but the young woman hadn't shown any interest, right?

Owen thought he knew what Barry was talking about though. He was fairly certain he knew the instance that would lead his friend to think there was something going on between he and Chris when there really wasn't.

A couple of months back during one of her visits with the girls, Chris wanted to see the majority of the paddock. She was still new to the site and wanted to make sure it was as big and secure as Owen said. So, together with Barry, the three walked the distance of the walls.

When they made it into the depths of the overhanging trees –a thing you truly can't escape for long on the island- something fell from the branches overhead. A strip of green toppled onto her shoulders. Chris screamed and leapt into Owen's arms, immediately wrapping her herself around his neck to hang on. He grunted at the sudden weight added to his body, but still easily held her in the air. With her sudden reaction, the three of them searched for the source of her scare. They'd all seen the green, but no one knew what it was exactly.

Scurrying away as quickly as it could was a slender, fluorescent green snake. Everyone calmed almost immediately. Chris sighed and dipped her head, partially resting it against Owen's cheek.

"You okay?" he openly teased.

She pulled back and looked at him with a scowl. Owen pouted and turned his voice into that ridiculous 'baby talk' tone that made people want to lash out when it was aimed at them.

"Did the big bad snake scare you?" he mocked.

"Oh piss off," she snapped back at him. "I saw a flash of green."

"You work with Raptors," Owen said heavily with a grin, "And don't blink, but that thing makes you scream like a little girl?"

"First," she held up a stern index finger, "I _am_ a girl. Second, at a glance, the bloody Palm Viper looks _exactly_ like that little Vine Snake when it's tumblin' out of a damn tree and smackin' ya in the face, okay? And those monsters are toxic, so I'll have none of this," she motioned at him with her freehand, "All right?"

Owen laughed and shook his head. Chris shifted just enough to look around and ensure the little Vine Snake wasn't lingering in the brush. She wasn't afraid of him, but she didn't want to step on him either. Vine Snakes were only mildly toxic compared to their Viper counterpart, hence her extreme reaction.

Sure it was gone, Chris looked back to Owen.

"Down boy," she replied.

Owen leaned a bit to the side and released her legs first. He let go when he was sure she could stand on her own without issue. Clearing her throat, Chris tried to act like she hadn't just shrieked in front of people she'd only known a few short weeks, but they'd seen it.

As he sat in his office, Owen wondered if that was the moment Barry thought Chris had a thing for him. It wasn't that she intentionally jumped into his arms, only that something had 'assaulted' her from above and evidently, that was her natural reaction.

There was nothing sexual about what happened that day, and nothing similar had happened since. Propping his elbow on the arm of his chair, Owen leaned into his hand and tugged lazily at his facial hair as he continued to ponder. Chris hadn't made eyes at him, nothing. Did she?

He replayed the scene in his head and slowed it down so he could take in every detail.

He remembered her body pressed to his. Not surprising considering he was holding her in his arms, but there was nothing there. He remembered she pressed her forehead to his cheek, but that was just in relief she wasn't going to be bitten by a venomous snake. That accounted for her thundering heart and how tightly she held him.

He thought about her face when she looked at him. Her cheeks were flushed, her full lips parted as she breathed heavily and her pupils dilated. When she calmed, the aqua blue returned to normal and shined as brightly through her glasses as the water just beyond his front porch. He ran his finger along his bottom lip and somehow felt himself focusing on Chris' lips, the way they were parted… the light tint of pink they were that matched her cheeks…

Owen quickly sat upright and cleared his throat when he realized what he was doing. He pulled himself to his desk and went about absentmindedly shuffling his paperwork to appear like he'd been doing his job the whole time. Barry had actually been working while Owen was in his delirium and jumped at his friend's sudden actions. It wasn't until he watched his partner that he noticed Owen's discomfort. Smiling to himself, he went back to his computer.

Not long afterwards, one of the guys came into the office both to escape the all-encompassing heat and give Owen something he'd found outside. It was Chris' knife, her flashlight and the box of latex gloves she'd left behind when working with the girls. Evidently, she forgot about them after receiving the call about the baby tric.

Owen took them and thanked the guy before he left. With her things sitting on his desk, Owen dug around for her cell phone number. It was written on a post-it note stuck to something.

"Damn it," he growled to himself. "You see Chris'-"

When he looked up, Owen spotted Barry offering him the wrinkled yellow chunk of paper absently while reading something on his computer monitor. Owen fought the urge to be sarcastic and simply thanked him when he snatched it away.

He dialed the number easily and waited for her to pick up.

" _Yeah?"_ she finally answered.

Almost determined to prove to Barry he didn't know what he was talking about, Owen acted calm and to the point.

"You left your shit at my site." He said bluntly.

He noticed his friend shaking his head and musing over something unsaid as Owen spoke to Chris on the phone and made arrangements for her to come get her stuff from his house. He was surprised she agreed, but a little annoyed she wouldn't get there long before his date with Claire, especially considering how punctual the redhead was. There was a chance Chris may not make it before he had to leave.

After getting home, showering and changing, Owen was glad to see Chris pull up to his house. He wasn't hard to find, necessarily, but not the easiest either. He was out of the way and that's how he preferred it.

Conversation was more forced than it ever had been before, and he noticed it. Damn Barry. If he hadn't said anything and made Owen actually think about her like he had, the former Navy man would be just fine. But no, he wasn't that lucky. Instead, it was awkward and he didn't appreciate it, especially since the two of them once got along so well.

When Claire arrived, the tension doubled, which he thought was impossible. His night didn't seem to be on the road to anything better.

Finally everyone left. Owen immediately wanted to get Claire drunk, or at least buzzed enough she'd loosen up. On the island was a small cantina-styled bar for those who wanted to relax and keep from going insane as they called Isla Nublar home. They served damn good Mexican food too, or… Latin food? Owen wasn't sure how to classify it really, he just knew it was delicious and that's where they were going.

As they headed down the road that led back to the small 'town', Owen spotted Chris' Jeep about a mile from his bungalow. He was surprised she lived so close, even though he couldn't actually see her place from the road.

Maybe he'd pay her a visit some day?


	4. Chapter 4

**Let me know what you think and enjoy!**

 **Chapter 4**

Owen's date with Claire had gone worse than he thought. She printed out an itinerary. Repeat, SHE PRINTED OUT AN ITINERARY! Who does that? Who is so rigid and such a control freak that they actually printed out an itinerary for a first date, complete with time slots designated to each event? Honestly, who does that?

The fact that she had scheduled the date to last two hours was ambitious, though. Neither of them wanted it to last that long and Owen was internally begging he could leave. Thankfully, Claire agreed and decided that an hour was plenty of time.

After taking him back to his place, she actually sat in the driver's seat and told him why she was not attracted to him. He stared at her, not in shock, but amazement, as she actually sat there and gave him a list of flaws. Evidently, there were quite a few.

When she was done, he happily left the SUV and made an internal note never to do something that stupid again. Apparently, Claire Dearing was an unflappable hard-ass and not worth the effort as far as he was concerned.

Owen finished tightening a few bolts in his bike's engine. After replacing the timing belt, he had to run it and make sure everything was working as smoothly as it needed to. Sometimes, driving on these roads was hell. Things would bounce up, jangle around inside his exposed engine and knock things just-enough out of whack.

He set aside his tools and straddled the motorcycle. After slipping the clutch into place, he slammed his heel down with the force needed to bring the bike to life. It roared and a smile formed. After a quick jaunt down the road and back, he'd be able to see if everything was fixed.

As he headed down the road, Owen felt himself glance to the small parking area a mile down from his place just to see if the tan Jeep was there. It was. Against his better judgment, Owen pulled up alongside it and paused.

He looked around for a glimpse of where her trailer might be. Behind him, Owen saw a few little trails carved out between some overgrown bushes and assumed that they led somewhere, like to another employee's bungalow. The cars parked closest to those paths let anyone with common sense know Chris probably wasn't down that way. His gaze shifted ahead once more.

He spotted another narrow path that led up a small hill. The path was made of stones which probably helped given the island's proclivity for rain. As his eyes followed it up through the overhanging palms, he spotted the hint of a silver corrugated roof. A slow smile spread across his lips. Perhaps it was time to say hello to the neighbors?

Owen turned off his bike and let it rest on its kickstand. He jogged easily up the stepping-stones and ducked out of the way of a few low branches before reaching another airstream trailer. The corrugated roof hung over her front steps giving her a small awning and shelter from a downpour if she had to pause to unlock her door.

The trailer sat on a little plateau and didn't have more than ten to fifteen feet of clear grass surrounding it before either hitting plants of a drop off. It felt cramped compared to his palatial plot.

The low murmur of music drew him away from the open –but screened- front door and towards the far left. He walked slowly before finding the source. The space at the end of the trailer was larger than what surrounded it. It was a bit like a backyard and spread for thirty feet or better of clear space before reaching a cliff side he knew overlooked the water.

Chris was sitting in one of a pair of Adirondack chairs on the grassy knoll with her feet propped up on a blue and white IGLOO cooler, a beer sitting on the wooden end table beside her along with an IPod in a dock. She was writing something in a journal. Grinning to himself, Owen leaned against the warming metal of her trailer and knocked.

Chris jumped slightly –which he expected- and whipped around to see him standing only a few feet away. She was obviously a little confused.

"Hi," she finally said.

"Hi." He greeted in return. "Mind if I join you?"

She was still a bit surprised to see him at her house and in her confusion found herself agreeing.

"Sure, of course." She nodded and sat up a bit straighter as she stuck her pen in her notebook to close it. "Beer?"

"Never say no to that." He grinned as he fell into the sloped wooden chair.

Chris did nothing more than use the toes of her foot to push up the cooler's lid. Chuckling to himself, Owen leaned forward and snatched a bottle out of its icy bath.

"Thanks," he said as he twisted off the cap and tossed it lazily onto the end table. "That your diary?" he teased before taking a sip.

With a smirk of her own, Chris handed it over. He gave her a mocking look of disbelief before accepting.

"I gonna see something about pillow fights in frilly nighties and experimenting in college?" he asked jokingly. Still, there was a hint of hope to his words.

"It's not biographical," she replied with a light laugh, "or fiction."

Owen smiled and glanced to her as Chris turned her gaze once more on the horizon. She reached for her beer and took a drink. Owen felt himself lingering on her lips like he had the day before when replaying the 'snake incident'. Thankfully, he managed to tear his gaze away after she took her drink and looked to him again.

" _While the tropical climate would otherwise hinder development,"_ he began to read in a stilted voice, " _Through specific genetic modifications and the inclusion of Aga…_ agga…" he hesitated when presented with what he swore was just a scrambled bit of letters.

" _Agalychnis callidryas_." Chris finished.

Owen looked up to see her smirking at him. His eyes went back to the page and glanced over the combination of letters. Within parenthesis was the common name.

" _Inclusion of the Red-Eyed Tree Frog's genetic code, the Para…"_

He glanced to her through his lashes for help. Chris was still grinning.

" _Parasaurolophus cyrtocristatus."_ This time she giggled a little when she spoke the animal's name.

"That thing," he replied. When his eyes went back to the notebook, the random Latin names scattered everywhere began to hurt his eyes. He slammed the book shut and offered it back. "My head's going to explode."

Still giggling, Chris took back her work and tossed it gently to the ground beside her chair.

"It's not for everyone, I'll admit." She nodded.

"You some kind of genius or something?"

Chris snorted a laugh and shook her head. She leaned forward and scratched her ankle. Damn mosquitoes. It didn't seem to matter how much deet you bathed in –or sunscreen- Isla Nublar still wanted a piece of you.

"Or something." She said with a grin as she leaned back. "When I's a kid, my mum showed me a bunch of saved newspaper articles from the year I was born. One of them had a drawin' of this dinosaur that had been discovered a couple of months after I came 'round. It was this weird, strange looking little thing with no real teeth and this tall," she held her hand less than five feet from the ground, "and I absolutely loved it. Looked like an alien." She smiled. Owen felt himself do the same. "And it was found only a couple of hours away. I was hooked, right then. I wanted to find my own aliens and learn everythin' I could."

"Oh," he let the word linger in one long sound as he nodded, "So you're a nerd."

Chris immediately flipped him off in the guise of scratching the side of her head. He chuckled, took another sip of his beer, and sighed but the smile remained.

"Got an itch?" he teased.

"Damn mosquitoes." She smiled. "So, what brings you this way? I'm a bit off the beaten trail."

"Saw your Jeep. Figured I'd say hi." He replied. It wasn't a complete lie.

"Ah," she said in a way that let him know she saw cracks in his bullshit explanation. Thankfully, she didn't comment on it. Instead, her question was much worse. "How's the date with _Ms. Dearing?"_

Owen immediately groaned and opted instead to finish off his beer. He set it on the end table when he was done and stood.

"Thanks for the beer." He said before turning and walking off.

His awkward behavior and how he reacted to her question didn't offend Chris. As a matter of fact, her laughter followed Owen down her path and to his bike.

She didn't mean to laugh, really she didn't, but his extremely uncomfortable reaction to such a simple question and how he happily ran away just made the sound come out before Chris could pull it back. As she looked towards her parking area and heard Owen's bike kick on, her face fell. She didn't mean to offend him, but it seems she may have.

Grumbling to herself that she'd inadvertently hurt Owen's feelings again, Chris sank back into her Adirondack chair. If they knew one another better, he'd probably see it as the teasing it was meant to be, but they barely spent time around each other outside of work, so perhaps something was lost in translation. Then again, she did flat out laugh. No one appreciated that.

With a sigh, Chris opened her notebook again and continued to scribble down her findings for the paper she wanted to publish. Her three day weekend didn't seem to be off to a great start.

~!~

Life on the island was hard to classify. Most of the employees left on the last ferry of the day which ran specifically for them and not tourists at ten o'clock at night. Those left behind were either night-crew or employees who lived there. By ten o'clock at night, the park was closed, the attractions disabled and the tourists either gone or in their hotel rooms. By ten o'clock, the island fell silent.

So what were you meant to do if you wanted to let loose a little after work, or relax for your three-day weekend? You could take an early morning ferry to the mainland, but then you'd have to return by ten o'clock. It didn't really equate to a great time. You could always spend the weekend on the mainland too, though good luck finding hotel rooms available. Jurassic World was understandably expensive and the Costa Rican populace wizened up. They realized that if they charged less, people would come back to the mainland to spend the night rather than stay on Isla Nublar, and they were right. There was a months-long waiting list for any and every hotel in Costa Rica.

So what then? _InGen_ gave their employees some outlets. There was a cantina-styled bar in their little town where they could go to relax, and most of the time it was fine, but after awhile it grew tiresome. Friends helped. Friends helped break up the monotony of life on the island if you had them. But, while Chris was friendly with everyone she worked with, they were what she classified as 'work' friends, people you liked, but not the kind you'd find yourself hanging out with afterwards.

It was reasons like this that most people couldn't last longer than a year on Isla Nublar. Despite being surrounded by people, it was surprisingly isolating. Most of the people there only had their work and that never seemed to sustain them for long.

To waste some time and not go insane, Chris decided to run tedious errands in a hope they would distract her. With a small grocery list in hand, she parked in front of the general store and headed inside.

The store was a small metal building that was perhaps the size of a regular 7/11, not one of the big-city ones with aisle after aisle after aisle, but it was a decent size nonetheless. She only needed a few things and thankfully, because Masrani _spared no expense_ and there were already shipments of everything to support the hotels and restaurants, the actual residents of the island were given a nice variety of goods to choose from. Still, there were downsides, like the fact that a gallon of milk cost ten American dollars because of importation fees.

With her hand-basket resting in the crook of her elbow, Chris made her way through the narrow aisles. She'd already gathered basic toiletries, paper towels, and a loaf of bread and was in the middle of grabbing a jar of peanut butter when the bell above the door chimed again. She didn't pay it any attention and went about her business. In her own world, she headed for the drinks in the far corner of the shop.

A large framed man was in her way, but paying him little attention, Chris intended to move around him. He turned first and nearly ran into her. It was Owen. She was surprised she hadn't recognized him before, and he was just as shocked to realize he'd almost stepped on her.

"Shit," he mumbled as he did his best not to topple onto the young woman who'd magically appeared. When his heart settled from the shock, he looked down at her and let his sarcasm speak. "You stalkin' me?"

"Yes," she said without the slightest hesitation. "I snuck in here after you, grabbed a basket and quickly selected half a dozen items simply in the off-chance I could bump into you in front of the cola display."

She didn't bother hiding her sarcasm and mocking. There was no way he didn't hear it.

"I knew it." Owen nodded.

Chris scoffed and shook her head while Owen smiled.

"You need a case?" he asked as he stepped aside just enough.

"Please," Chris nodded.

Owen shifted the bread aside in her basket and simply set the six-pack he'd picked up inside it before grabbing another.

"Thanks,"

"No problem,"

Owen headed for the cashier and snagged a few snack foods on the way while Chris picked up a six-pack of beer as well and fell in behind him. Chris felt the words again bubble inside and she wanted to keep them back long enough to better organize them, but she didn't. Like before, they just came out.

"I'm sorry," she randomly said. Owen turned to her with a freshly opened Slim Jim hanging from his mouth. "Again,"

"What'd you do this time?" he openly joked.

As he stepped aside, Chris put her things on the narrow counter. The cashier quickly scanned and bagged them all while she curled her nose at the conversation she was forced to have again.

"'Bout makin' fun of your date with Dearing." She admitted.

Owen nodded absently. He'd sort of forgotten about it.

"Don't worry about it." He replied. "I was still suffering from PTSD."

Chris' brows came together as she looked up at him in disbelief.

"That bad?" she pulled out her wallet and retrieved her card to pay.

"Yeah," he sighed the word, "That bad."

Smiling lightly, she turned her attention to the cashier.

"Sorry to hear it." She told him. And she was. She'd had her fair share of awful first dates.

Owen was about to say goodbye when he glanced down and saw her billfold open as she waited for her card to be returned. He wouldn't have thought anything about it if he wasn't presented with her driver's license. Owen quickly snatched it away.

"Hey!" she snapped. She didn't think he'd steal anything, but she was a little annoyed he'd taken it.

"This is what your licenses look like?" he asked as he skimmed the card beneath a thin sheet of plastic.

Australian driver's licenses were –obviously- different from anything he had in his wallet. Firstly, it was green which was actually kind of cool. The layout however, was a little strange. It didn't say a state –again, obviously- and just said VIC after her address. Then there was the picture. It looked like her and like she did in person. She wasn't afflicted with the WTF face most people inadvertently made during the picture, but there were interesting details, like, for example, her hair was blue and green. The top half of her rather long, dark hair was still black, but with it strung over her shoulder in a braid, he could see every hint of green and blue streaked through it. That was a delightful surprise.

" _Christiana Abigail Pratt_ ," he read, much to her annoyance. Chris tried to snatch it away, but he was so much taller. "Blah, blah, blah, your address. Awe, look at that, you drive a car." She rolled her eyes. Unlike Americans, Australia actually wrote _car_ beneath _license type_.

"Give it back," she grumbled.

"What's VIC mean?"

"What?"

"It says _Melbourne VIC_." He said. "Shouldn't that say like… _AUS_ or something?'

"It means Victoria." She told him. "I live in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia."

He nodded absently.

"And your initials are CAP?" he asked with a wicked grin as he looked down at her. "Can I call you Cappy?"

Her eyes instantly hardened and she glared openly at him. He'd never seen her angry before. Annoyed, sure, but this was clearly angry.

"Okay, okay," he held up his hands in resignation, "No Cappy."

She relaxed, but was still glowering at him as she snatched her wallet away.

"Bit of an ass, aren't you?" she asked as she slipped her debit card back into her wallet and her wallet into her pocket.

"More than a bit." He admitted with a smirk.

Chris rolled her eyes and threaded her bags onto her arms.

"Cheers," she told the cashier, "Later,"

Owen watched her step out from around him and head for the door. With her back, she opened it easily and moved for her car. Owen followed after her. He wondered if she was really mad. In truth no, she wasn't, but she was annoyed at the nickname. It was one that struck a chord because kids from primary school had give it to her once before.

Chris was in the middle of leaning into the passenger side of her Jeep. For the first time the cloth top and doors were removed so there wasn't much need for her to do anything more than set her purchases inside.

He watched her for a moment and thought. She was too busy doing her own thing to notice him pausing at his bike a few short yards away. When she got into the driver's seat and turned the car on, Owen finally spoke.

"What are you doing later?" he called just loudly enough for her to hear.

Chris looked up. Her brows came together in confusion. Owen mused to himself when she turned to look behind her. For some reason, Chris was sure he was talking to someone else before realizing there simply was no one else.

"I'm sorry?" she asked him.

"What are you doing later?" he repeated.

She shrugged. Chris had no plans as far as she knew. She was still 'off' so unless she was called in to work, her schedule was basically open. Owen set his purchases in the milk-crate he strapped to the passenger seat of his bike in order to carry home what he bought, and began to walk towards her.

"Wanna come by?" he asked. When he reached her Jeep, he gripped the bars above her head and let his arms hang lazily.

"Uh," she was a little taken aback by the offer. "Why?"

A light smirk touched his lips and his brows rose on his forehead. He just eyed her for a moment or two as the obvious reason began to gently sink into her head.

"Oh," she mumbled, "Like a date?"

His smirk widened just a hint and he nodded.

"Yeah, like a date."

"Uh," she hesitated again. Chris' brain filled with a bevy of both questions and answers. She didn't know why he'd ask her, she was glad he did, and she wasn't sure what to say. The chaotic scene her mind had become in those short seconds meant a truthful answer left her lips before she could stop it. "Sure,"

"Great," Owen chimed as he smacked his palm against the bar above her head. "I'll see you around nine."

He turned and headed back to his bike.

"Sure," was her only response.

Chris watched Owen drive away before she seemed able to actually put her Jeep into gear. The entire drive home she wondered why she just agreed to go on a date with him. Yes, she liked him and yes she had a crush on him, but the fact that a date was now approaching filled Chris with a nervous apprehension she hadn't felt since she was a teenager.

Regardless, a smile began to tug at her lips.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN:** Hi guys! I'm so glad someone is liking this story. I loved seeing comments. It made me want to continue. Here's another chapter and I hope you like it. Let me know what you think and enjoy!

 **Chapter 5**

Owen made his way back to the paddock with the snacks he'd bought at the general store. He passed out the snacks he'd purchased for the guys and took the cokes into the office. As he returned to work, he thought about the coming date with Chris.

After telling Barry about what happened with Claire, the Frenchman could do little more than laugh and poke fun. He did everything guy-friends do to one another when they go through the same thing Owen had. It was all in good fun, but that didn't mean Barry was wrong about half the things he said either.

He told Owen that's what he got for asking out someone he didn't outwardly have anything in common with, so the fault lay with him. Owen did his best to defend himself, but Barry had a point. But, not willing to rest on his laurels, Barry felt the need to repeat that Owen should give Chris a chance. He was met with the same skepticism as before.

It wasn't until Owen spotted her in the general store that he wondered why not. That was a dangerous question, why not. Usually what followed was nothing good, and he knew that, but at the same time Owen was aware it couldn't be worse than his date with Claire. At least he hoped not.

So he decided to take a few precautions. First, the 'date' would be at his house so there wouldn't be an audience to the potential awkwardness like there was before. Second, it would be little more than a get together of sorts. He'd put something on the grill and they could just hang out. If it went well, he could officially call it a date. If it didn't, the pair of them could just say that no, it was just food nothing more. Plus, it gave her an easy out. She'd only be a short ride from her own house and neither would be reliant on the other for a ride.

Sure. Why not?

~!~

Chris had been sitting nervously in her trailer for a while. She'd already changed and now she was simply trying to waste time. The issue was, it gave her a chance to think.

As she sat on her small built-in sofa, Chris' knee bounced at an impressive speed while she thought about what to do. It was a little after 8:45. Should she be early? Should she get there at nine? Should she be late? Owen hadn't been specific, so it was up to interpretation, but early could come across too eager. Late could make her seem a bit like an ass and was just rude. So what was she to do?

Unfortunately, Chris was entirely aware of how ridiculous her thoughts were. She was fully aware that she was stressing over the most trivial things possible and in turn making herself crazy. She knew a shot of something alcoholic could calm her down, but Chris didn't have a bottle of anything. If she were an alcoholic she'd have her pick stashed away, but she wasn't so she didn't. For a brief second, Chris thought about a lifestyle change.

Realizing it quickly, Chris growled and pushed herself to her feet. Stupid. She was being stupid.

Grabbing her phone and keys, Chris headed out.

At his place, Owen stoked the fire he had lit in his pit and tossed another log onto it. The sun hadn't entirely set, but it was beyond the horizon. Traces of orange and pink still lingered in the distance while the night began to take over. A fire in Costa Rica wasn't made for heat, it was made for the beauty of it, the relaxation of it, and for the slab of pork he'd thrown onto the adjustable rack.

As he shifted the embers and adjusted the fresh log to monitor the flames, headlights illuminated the area around him. Still holding the poker, Owen turned to see the Jeep pull off to the side and park. When Chris got out, he had to admit he was a little surprised by her attire.

For the first time since meeting her, Chris wore a pair of shorts and a shirt with a design. The shirt she wore was a band-tee sporting the Ramons' name and the presidential seal in the middle. The oversized piece was tucked in on the front but left loose everywhere else. For some reason, he liked the way it looked on her despite being annoyed when others did it.

As though that weren't enough, her hair was down –braided and slung over her shoulder- and her glasses were gone. For the first time ever, Owen saw her face. The internal smile touched his lips as he walked forward to meet her in step.

Chris' heart hadn't calmed since arriving, though expecting it to within seconds was foolish anyway. She was glad she wasn't the only one going 'casual' with their attire. Owen wore something similar to what he wore on Claire's date, except this time his board shorts were black with a thin, bright blue stripe that went from hip to knee on one side.

He looked good despite the wardrobe being so simple. God help her.

"Aren't you blind?" he teased when he was closer.

"Ha bloody ha." She replied. "Contacts, mate."

"Never worn them before." He replied with a smile as they reached each other.

"I was workin' before." She found solace in her sarcasm. It helped her speak. "Last thing I need is to rub my eye after touchin' a dino. Knowin' my luck, I'd get some mutant, prehistoric, eye-eatin' disease just 'cause my contacts itched."

He laughed before noticing something interesting.

"Are you taller?" he looked at her feet.

Chris turned her foot to the side to show him her wedge sandals that made her roughly four inches taller and kept her from sinking into the dirt since they lacked a pointed heel.

"You're sharp, huh?" she teased. "This better work 'cause this is the second nicest outfit I own here."

He met her eye again and knew she was referencing Claire's disapproval of his wardrobe a couple of days earlier. And while he liked it, he felt the need to tease.

"Only second best?"

"I've a dress," she admitted, "A proper dress, wrapped and sealed all in plastic for when I've got to go to meetings with all of those people that pay us. But that's for them."

He chuckled.

"All right, well, you want a beer?"

"Please," she nodded.

Owen led the way back to the fire pit and offered her a seat which she took. He reached into an open Styrofoam cooler and handed her a beer. Chris thanked him.

"What's that then?" she pointed at the chunk of meat.

"Pork," he said as he fell into his lawn chair beside her. He hesitated and looked over her with a slightly judging look. She noticed and eyed him suspiciously. "You're not a vegetarian, are you?" he didn't bother hiding his joking disapproval of the thought.

"No," she laughed as she shook her head. "Speakin' of," she pushed herself up just enough to look around briefly. After she had, she gave him her attention again and with the most ridiculously 'frightened' voice said, "You don't have any vegetables anywhere 'round here, do you?"

This time it was Owen who flipped her off, choosing to do so the same way she had him by feigning an itch on the side of his head. He knew she was mocking him and she knew he was teasing.

"Itch?" she asked with a smirk.

"Damn mosquitoes." He grinned.

Chris was finally becoming comfortable and she was grateful for it. When she was nervous, she tended to ramble and inevitably put her foot in the mouth. This was a better alternative.

Owen felt the same. It had been five minutes and he didn't have the sudden urge to stab himself in the eye with a rusted fork. Already, this was better than his night with Claire.

~!~

As the night progressed the pair relaxed to the point it was like they were old friends. They joked and laughed as they ate the perfectly roasted pork. Owen had every intention of getting paper plates –his very best- and plastic forks for them to use, but Chris scoffed. She told him they used to pick the meat off the spit back home. He couldn't seem to pinpoint just how much he liked her for that. There was something incredibly attractive about a woman that laid back.

The teasing continued as they ate slivers of roasted pork and poked fun at one another for random things. For some reason, they eventually found the need to commiserate over awful dates.

"It's not funny," Chris whined with a giggle of her own as Owen continued to laugh at her. "He's a total bogan. It was awful." Owen was still chuckling as he looked at her in confusion. Without warning, Chris leaned forward and slapped her shin. "Bloody mozzies." She mumbled.

His confused expression deepened.

" _What?"_ he asked with emphasis.

Chris turned to him with a blank expression.

"What?"

Evidently, her accent not only got stronger when she was buzzed, but her slang returned and Owen was suffering for it.

"I don't speak Aussie." He told her jokingly. "The hell is a bogan… or mozzies?"

She smiled to herself and scratched the back of her head. Chris curled her nose in mild embarrassment. She always felt a little weird explaining what things meant to Americans. That's why she generally didn't use her peoples' idioms. Apparently, she really was comfortable now.

"Uh, well, bogan's a bit like what you people call a hillbilly, I guess." She said. "And mozzies are mosquitoes."

He shook his head and continued to grin as he brought his drink to his lips.

"I need an Australian to English dictionary to talk to you." He said into the neck of his beer before taking a long drink.

"Shut it," she replied with a light laugh. Chris shoved at him weakly, but in truth didn't mean it. Owen did little more than sway behind the action. "You should hear me when I go back home. It's _so_ much worse." She laughed. "You'd never know what's happenin'."

As they mused over teasing one another, a Brachiosaur family called out in the distance. It was one of those sounds that had become as common as the birds and other natural animals of the era. Still, it was incredible to hear.

"So, why all the way over here, away from everyone?" she asked.

"It's quiet." He admitted. "And on the water."

"And you have a dock, too."

Owen watched as Chris stood and headed down to the water. By the time she made it to the dock, he was following after.

Holding her beer in the tips of her fingers, Chris swayed lazily as she walked down the narrow slit of wood. She wasn't drunk, just meandering and honestly trying not to fall in. The glow cast from the lights he had strung from his bungalow to the tree was beautiful, but dim and other than the moon, there wasn't much illuminating her path.

"Is that required for Navy boys?" she teased. "Are you aquatic?"

He still smirked to himself as he followed behind. Owen was having more fun than he thought he would. True, he and Chris got along while she was giving the girls their check-ups, but that was a small indicator as to whether or not they'd get along in the outside world, especially since their only two examples previously ended with her laughing at him. But despite that, he was having a good time. A _very_ good time.

Chris finally made it to the edge of the dock and took a seat. She tugged off her sandals as she thought about whether or not she was brave enough to put her feet in the water. Owen appeared in her periphery and took a seat beside her. He'd kicked off his flip-flops on the way and didn't hesitate to stick his feet into the tepid ocean water. Since it was night, it was on the cooler side, but still nearly eighty degrees Fahrenheit. It was warmer than the water she was used to back home by nearly twenty degrees.

Owen kicked his legs a few times just because. He liked the water off the coast. It was perfect for year-round swimming. But as he enjoyed it, he noticed Chris sitting with her legs crossed and nowhere near it. He raised a brow.

"You scared of the water?"

She gave him a sarcastic smile.

"'Course not." She told him. "I surf and everythin'." She teased, "But this place is a bit different, yeah?"

"How?" he asked with a laugh.

"There's probably one of those little lab-rejects swimmin' 'round in there." She joked –slightly- as she pointed out at the water. "Just waitin' to eat someone."

"Well," Owen shoved himself to his feet. He reached for the hem of his shirt and tugged it off without hesitation. Smirking, he looked down at her. Chris had to tear her eyes away from his chest to meet his stare. "Let's not keep it waiting."

Still grinning like an idiot, Owen leapt into the water. The tidal wave-like splash doused Chris even after she curled her knees to her chest to try and shield herself. When she unfurled, Owen broke the surface. He shook his head and sent beads of water flying everywhere as he laughed.

When she unfolded herself, Chris was half-wet and scowling at him, though the expression lost any of its power while her lips were curled into a smile. Owen just kept chuckling as he stood in the chest-deep water.

"Did I get ya?" he openly mocked.

Instead of disguising it this time, Chris flat out flipped him off.

"Oh," he winced like it caused him physical pain. "That just hurts."

She rolled her eyes. Chris was doing her best not to look at him, but it was difficult. Keeping herself from ogling was hard enough when the man was wearing clothes. Now as he stood chest deep in the ocean -still shallow enough for her to see the good bits- his shirt was gone and his incredibly well-defined chest was glistening with residual water. Her heart had been going pitter-pat since she arrived. Now, it was like a thundering stampede of a thousand horses.

The sound of shifting water drew her attention back to him. God help her, he was smirking wickedly, wet and heading straight for her.

"Come on," he said as he offered his hand. "No monsters."

She cocked a brow, but didn't move.

"You can swim, right?" he asked it teasingly, but there was a hint of true curiosity. "Cause you're on an island. Swimming's kind of required."

"I know how to bloody swim." She shot back sarcastically. "But the waters off Australia's coast lack the monsters this place produces."

It was a stupid excuse and she knew it. Honestly, she was only flirting with him. She wasn't serious about anything in the water. Not so serious she wouldn't 'swim' with him, at least.

"You people have sharks." He shot back. "Like, huge, eat-people-for-fun, kind of sharks."

She shrugged a single shoulder. Still grinning, he moved even closer. To her mild horror, he reached out and grabbed her ankle.

"Come on," he goaded as he began to pull.

"The hell you think you're doin'?" she asked with a slightly nervous laugh.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you."

She scoffed a laugh. With the toes of her other foot, Chris pushed against his chest just in the crook of his shoulder to try and get him away. The action was halfhearted at best.

"Better knock it off." She said as she pushed back.

Her efforts did little more than force him to stand at an angle, but he still persisted. With her other ankle presented, Owen wrapped his massive hand around it and she knew she was stuck. Still smiling that damn smirk, Owen stepped forward and pulled her towards him at the same time. Soon she was supporting herself only on her palms as he lifted her ass off the deck.

Owen stood less than a few feet from her and decided to act. He tugged sharply and threaded her legs around his waist quickly. With no center of gravity, Chris had no choice but to comply. She squeaked as she was taken off the dock. She immediately wrapped her arms around his neck as he laced her legs around his waist.

He was laughing at her response and swelling internally with pride that he'd succeeded. While Chris wasn't completely in the water, she was still half-submerged now that he held her. Being half in the water and taking in the death-grip Chris' legs had on his waist, Owen barely had to support her at all. That didn't, however, mean he wouldn't cop a feel and happily 'supported' her by holding her ass.

Chris eventually pulled back when her heart calmed as much as she assumed it would. She glared down at the smiling man as 'meanly' as she could, but her smirk remained.

"Not nice." She said.

His lips pulled back into a wide-toothed grin.

"It's not that bad," he said. Owen took wide steps away from the dock and into the water just to move her around a little bit. "See?"

"I told you, I'm not scared of the water."

"Sure," he said with a sarcastic nod.

Chris glared playfully at him. As though wanting to prove him wrong –and perhaps a mixture of flirtation and alcohol- she decided to show him. Letting go of his neck, Chris bent backwards. Using the leverage she had from her legs around his waist, she dipped herself in the water just deep enough to saturate herself completely.

Owen wasn't above ogling her this time. He'd been stealing glances at her legs all night, but until now hadn't been a chance to look at anything else. Now, with her in his arms and contorting herself the way she was, he could and gladly did.

When she bent back, the rush of water between them dislodged the portion of her shirt that was tucked in and even pushed it up just a hint. It let him see just a bit of her stomach and her hips. As she pulled herself back up, her shirt was stuck to her body giving him a better idea of what she kept hidden beneath her clothing and he liked it.

The action only took a few seconds, but he'd seen enough in the meantime. When she rose again, Chris ran her hands over her face to wipe away the water. Her arms threaded their way around his neck again as she sat upright.

"See?" her voice was softer than it rightfully should be as she spoke to him. "Not afraid."

"Yeah," he said in the same tone. Owen's hand came up and tenderly moved a tendril of hair off her neck. "You sure showed me."

Chris' heart began to thunder again. She could feel every inch of him it seemed and she was melting as a result. She was doing her best to keep her legs from trembling as they held Owen's waist securely, but she wasn't completely sure she was succeeding.

The fact of the matter was Owen barely noticed. He was too busy focusing on himself and trying to keep from doing anything too… ambitious. Suddenly lunging for her might be a bad idea.

The two found words lacking as they stared at one another. Their chests were pressed together, he cradled her close and she wanted to be just as near him. This was potentially dangerous and exciting territory.

At some point her lips parted to help her breathe –for _some_ reason it had become difficult- and even worse when she noticed his eyes divert. His gaze had shifted to her lips because he found them a little trickier to ignore at such close proximity. Deciding he knew exactly what he wanted to do, Owen reached forward. He threaded his fingers through her damp hair and closed the miniscule distance between them.

Fire pulsed through her body the instant she felt his lips mold against hers. Chris did her best to keep from cooing outright, but she was fairly certain she made the noise anyway. And she had, Owen heard her and it sent his nerves on end in the best way.

The kiss was tentative at first, but only at first. The moment the electricity shot through them both, it was all over. Chris tightened her hold and Owen wrapped a massive arm around her to do the same. Their kissing deepened and the fire between them grew.

Their tongues dueled, they bit and nipped at one another's lips and it was clear the situation was escalating quickly. Owen ran his free hand along her side and beneath her shirt. He didn't hesitate to grab her chest. Chris felt like she would go through her skin in the best way, but knew she had to say something first.

"Wait," she whispered as she struggled to part from him. Honestly, she was amazed she had the ability. "Wait, wait, wait," she breathed in rapid fire.

Chris' forehead came to rest against his and she let out a longing sigh before putting just enough distance between them she could see him. She felt so much better seeing Owen's face saturated with lust because she knew hers was too.

She was kicking herself internally the moment she stopped kissing him, but she had to try and stick firm.

"Can't root on the first date." She told him breathily.

Owen's face twisted with confusion.

"Me neither?" he replied in a tone that matched. His response caught her off guard for some reason.

"What?"

"I don't know." He shrugged. "I was just agreeing with you. What's root mean?"

She smiled sweetly at him. He was too adorable, especially using her slang without even knowing what he was saying. He likely wouldn't have agreed if he knew.

"Sex," she told him. Understanding and mild disappointment washed through his features. "I don't have sex on the first date."

"Ah," he stretched out the word for awhile and nodded. "Fair enough,"

They stood there for a moment unmoving. Chris was looking over Owen's face, wondering if he was actually okay with it, or if he was the kind of guy that would immediately act offended that she didn't want to sleep with him. It wasn't that she didn't want to either, god save her she did, more than anything at that moment, but throwing caution to the wind had gotten her in trouble before. Since then, she did her best to keep from being too impulsive when it came to men she was seeing.

But as they stood there, each trying to decide what they planned to do, Owen surprised her. In truth, it was a relief too.

"We can still fool around though, right?" he asked simply.

Chris didn't fight or bother to hide her laugh. He grinned.

"Well, your hand's still on my tit, so," she shrugged.

Owen glanced down and saw the fabric of her shirt sticking to his hand. He squeezed just because he could and feigned surprise.

"Would ya look at that?" he asked sarcastically.

She snorted a light laugh and shook her head. Owen looked up at her again with a goofy smile she found a bit endearing. His hand slid down her side until it joined its partner on her ass.

As she looked down at him, Chris still felt the overwhelming urge to kiss him and break the only rule she really had. The longer she stayed glued to Owen, the more that rule became a bendable guideline. If she lingered still, that rule would turn into a notion and easily ignored.

"So, what do you want to do now?" he asked in a deep, gravely voice twisted with a reigniting desire.

Chris' jaw tensed. She cocked her head to the side and raised a single brow. Owen noticed her eyes flash with fire and felt his gut turn as a result. His grip tightened.

God damn it, the rule was fast becoming a distant thought. Before she could think better, Chris leaned forward and kissed him again. There was no hesitation like the first time. Too consumed with their insatiable desire, they picked up where they'd left off.

They pawed at one another again and as her mind began to empty, a last, single, coherent thought broke through. As reluctantly as she had before, Chris pushed herself back. This time, she couldn't look at Owen as she moved out of his arms. If she did meet his heavy stare, she knew there would be absolutely no turning back.

"I should go," she said as she cleared her throat.

Owen reluctantly let her go. Chris jogged heavily through the water that nearly reached her shoulders. She had to put distance between herself and Owen because she couldn't guarantee his safety if she didn't. Owen followed after her and reached the dock just as she pulled herself out of the water. He hesitated. While she was busy grabbing her shoes, Owen took the chance to adjust what would be a noticeable appendage before joining her on the dock.

Chris hadn't even made it half way down the dock before she began to think she'd ruined any chance of spending more time with Owen. That was the logical thought, wasn't it? A guy could be fine with you putting the brakes on something once, but twice? In her experience, that level of frustration generally irritated the opposite sex enough they didn't want to continue wasting their time.

Owen watched her as she headed for the pit where she'd left her keys and phone. He noticed the strange way she was moving and could tell immediately she was embarrassed. He wondered why, before thinking he probably knew. From what he knew about her, Owen assumed she was embarrassed because she nearly broke her rule. He thought that was adorable.

"What are you doing Friday?" he asked when she grabbed her phone.

Chris turned to him with a questioning stare. She had to force herself to look into his eyes. His chest was still glistening with water… Jesus…

"Why?"

Owen shrugged a single shoulder as he closed the distance between them. Holding his shirt in his hands, he squeezed the bundle to wring out the water, and she hated him for it. Judging by the smirk on his lips when he did it and the fact that he deliberately flexed his muscles let her know Owen was well aware of what he was doing. She hated the fact that now they were standing in the lit portion of his yard and she could see him so much clearer. She could see every muscle twitch and every shadow they cast.

Asshole.

"Wanna go get something to eat, in public this time?" he asked with a smirk.

She narrowed her eyes in a light glare. Chris was fairly certain he was teasing.

"So you don't lose control again." He openly mocked.

Her glare deepened, but she felt herself grin lightly.

"Sure," she agreed before thinking better of it. "Maybe you'll be able to keep your clothes on?" she offered in the same sarcasm.

Owen let out a short, booming laugh.

"Like that'll stop me." He smiled.

Chris shook her head in disbelief. Why did he have to be so charmingly funny, and sexy and fun and… oh she hated him.

"I'll see you on Wednesday for the girls' check up." She said.

Owen gave her a nod. Chris began towards her Jeep with a wave. They both knew a goodnight kiss wasn't in their best interest.

"You want a towel for your seat or something?" he called after her. He felt a little guilty she would have to sit in the company car dripping with water.

"Nah," Chris said back. She opened her door and paused briefly before getting in. Her smirk turned devilish and he liked it. "I knew one way or another I'd be leavin' this date all wet."

Owen groaned and touched his chest as he mocked being punched. Truth was, her salacious words brought out the action. He liked the double entendre, probably more than he should have.

With a victorious smile –glad she'd finally gotten the sexual upper hand- Chris got into her car and set off to her trailer less than a mile down the road.

She was in dangerous territory with Owen Grady, and she liked it. Then again, that was the problem. Work-place relationships were tricky and usually ended badly. She knew from personal experience.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Wednesday came and like she'd told him, Chris arrived at Owen's paddock for the girls' checkup.

The raptors were wrangled into their respective harnesses so she could get the same standard information and blood vile she always collected. And while Chris was doing her best to pay attention to her work, Owen seemed to make it more difficult than usual. She'd steal glances every few minutes and blush when she caught him doing the same. While they tried to act as though it was just like every other day, if anyone who cared to look at them they'd notice. Like Barry, for example.

At first he hadn't thought much of it. He noticed the way they acted towards one another even when they didn't, but this time was different. Owen smiled a bit wider than usual and let his gaze linger, while Chris would share the smile and glance away coyly when their eyes met. It was as though they were sharing a secret and Barry took notice. After a little while, he found himself watching them closer than normal to see if he could discern what it may be.

It was at one point in particular he knew something had happened between them. Charlie was the last girl in the pin when Barry spotted a strange interaction between the pair. As Chris extracted the typical vile of blood from Charlie's neck and Owen stood across from her to calm the animal, their eyes met. Like before, Owen smirked and while Chris smiled to, a blush overtook her cheeks.

Right then Barry knew something happened and he very much planned to ask Owen about it later.

After giving the girls their treat, Chris was jogging lightly down the stairs that led to the ground floor with Owen not far behind.

"They're doin' well." She said as they made their way towards her gear. Chris bent down and began to close her tackle box. When it was closed, Owen knelt down and lifted it before she had the chance. "Thanks," she gave him a smile and stood. "Whatever you've been doin' is workin'." They headed for her Jeep and she opened the back door for him. Owen set the box inside. "Blood work's stayin' steady and vitals are always strong." she closed the hatch. "They're happy."

"Glad to hear it." He replied. Owen propped his hand against the back of her Jeep and leaned against it lazily. His smirk remained. "We still on for Friday?"

Her blush returned and she giggled lightly. Chris had no idea where it had come from, or why she felt the need, but evidently he brought it out. She hated herself for it immediately, but his grin grew.

"Uh yeah, sure." She nodded when she met his eye again, "I'll be on call, but yeah."

He gave her a nod. The two of them hesitated to do much of anything for a moment. Truth was, they weren't really sure what to do. A small kiss would have been nice, but they ran the risk of losing control like they had at Owen's house –a true possibility. Not to mention, the affection was something the others hadn't seen and since both Chris and Owen weren't really sure what they were doing, they didn't want the rumor mill to flow. So they lingered.

Eventually, Owen reached forward. She felt her heart beat a little faster than normal as she wondered what he'd do, but the action was innocent. A leaf –or some other kind of foliage debris- had somehow become tangled in Chris' hair. Owen took the object and showed it to her so she knew what he'd done. She smiled shortly and gave him a nod as he tossed it to the ground.

"Friday." He said.

"Friday." She agreed.

And with that, Owen let Chris walk by him and get into her car. She was gone a little while later.

When the Jeep was out of sight, Barry made his way slowly towards his still-grinning friend. His arms were crossed over his chest as he sauntered closer. When he reached Owen's side, it was clear that for the moment Owen was unaware he was there. It wasn't until he turned that he spotted his friend and jumped internally as a result.

"Hey man," Owen greeted as he casually walked by his coworker and for the offices. Barry followed shortly after.

"What is with you two?" he asked bluntly as he lets the door close behind him.

Owen looked up as he fell into his chair. His eyes were a hint wider than normal and –as though trying to convince Barry he didn't know what he was talking about- Owen glanced around the office.

"What two?" Owen asked as he continued to feign innocence.

Barry narrowed his eyes at his friend's obviously weak attempts.

"What?" Owen snickered just a bit and shrugged.

"Did you and Chris…" Barry let his voice trail off. Owen clearly knew what he was insinuating.

"Nah, man." Owen smiled wide and he leaned back in his chair lazily. "She just stopped by for some food the other night."

Again, Barry narrowed his eyes. He knew there was more, but Owen had the smirk that said he wasn't going to continue. Besides, he wasn't really lying. Chris had come over for food. Their time together may not have remained as innocent as that, but it was still the truth.

The Frenchman reluctantly dropped the subject. He knew Owen well enough to know that was the end of it anyway and while he was sure something else transpired, perhaps he didn't need details.

~!~

When Friday came, Chris was both as prepared and less-so for her date with Owen. Firstly, this was –apparently- a real date. Secondly, well… last time. Though, that did add a nice level of excitement to the ordeal.

As Chris took the short jaunt down her front stepping-stones and to her Jeep, she was surprised to see Owen already waiting. He smirked up at her as he leaned against the handlebars to his bike. This time, he was wearing a normal, plain colored shirt and jeans. The casual attire didn't make him any less attractive.

She smiled back as she threw her thick braid back over her shoulder. Chris had gone with casual too –nearly the same thing she'd worn last time in fact- but with a different shirt. Truth was, she didn't have that much in the way of clothing outside of what she wore for work.

Chris took slow steps down her hill.

"Mr. Grady," she greeted in a slightly mocking way.

"Doctor Pratt." He replied in the same tone. "Come on," Owen sat up and slapped the extra seat behind him.

"Thought I was driving myself to the cantina." She said as she came around and did as he asked.

"Where's the fun in that?" he asked over his shoulder.

Smiling to herself, Chris shook her head the moment Owen brought his bike upright. Before she could ask how he even snuck up on her place, he kicked the bike to life and sped off down the street.

Chris clung to him as she was meant to. That was his plan. Guys with bikes always have a plan, a technique, they use with women and Owen was no different. He never did anything overly dangerous, but he would randomly speed up just enough to shock his passenger into holding him tighter. Chris was no exception.

When coming around a turn, Owen sped up just a bit afterward causing Chris to hold tighter. As a result, her fingernails raked across his ribs. The feeling tickled, sent chills up the back of his neck and forced him to shrug his shoulders as though it would help alleviate it.

A few moments later, Owen pulled up to the small cantina bar/grill (whatever-the-hell) they had on the island.

Music played loudly from a dozen small speakers set up everywhere. The whole area was nestled within overhanging palm trees and tucked beneath a corrugated metal overhang easily big enough to fit the dozen tables beneath it. Between beams and trees were a litter of small lanterns and lights casting the whole area in a soft, muted orange glow.

Off to the far right of the parking lot was the only actual building. The front of it –what was nestled beneath the metal overhang- was wide open and made up to be a bar. Behind the counter and liquor, just through a basic sized window, was the kitchen. The kitchen took the vast majority of the real estate, but around back were the small bathrooms.

Everything was very compact when it came to the actual buildings, but the area itself was a decent size.

When they pulled into the parking lot, there were the locals and regulars scattered around talking, eating and drinking. With schedules as strange as they were, most of the people were likely off, but could just as easily be there on a lunch break. There was no real way to tell.

The pair recognized a few people, but the trouble with working for such an expansive company was unless they worked directly with you, learning others' names was a waste of time, especially when it was at a place like Jurassic World where the turn-over was impressive.

As they made their way to their seats, Owen seemed to already make up his mind about what they were going to have. Evidently, shots were on that list.

"I can't." she laughed as she pushed back the tequila shot once more.

"Come on…" he groaned with a smirk. Owen pushed it back.

"I'm on call." She replied as she pushed it towards him.

"Then just one."

She narrowed her eyes playfully while Owen only beamed a wide-toothed smile. A smirk touched her lips.

Eventually, Chris rolled her eyes and took the shot. Owen chuckled happily when she had, even more so when she winced, and slid the empty glass back towards him.

"Ugh," she breathed, "I've never been a tequila girl."

"Awe," he openly mocked. "Too strong for ya?"

She cocked a single brow in defiance.

"I prefer whiskey."

His smile turned a little wicked, but he said nothing on the matter.

The night progressed easily. Owen and Chris ate their nachos, drank their beers –though Chris limited herself to one- and continued to enjoy themselves. Being surrounded by people did help, but only just. At least this way, Chris didn't have to worry about Owen taking off his shirt… she hoped.

After a little while, however, Owen wanted to dance. The question surprised Chris because she didn't see him as the kind who would like to, but her ever-present smirk remained.

"Oh come on, you _can_ dance," He narrowed his eyes and looked at her with a hint of sarcasm, "Right?"

"Like a spider on a hot plate." She joked.

Owen let out a loud laugh. He couldn't help it. The image of Chris ambling around without control of her limbs and trying to keep to the rhythm suddenly popped into his head.

"That right?" his chuckle remained when he spoke.

"And what about you?" she shot back. "Can you dance at all?"

"Oh yeah," Owen nodded. "You see, my hips don't lie." Chris narrowed her eyes. "And I'm startin' to feel its right. All the attraction," he motioned between the two of them, "the tension. Don't you see baby? This," he motioned to himself, "is perfection?"

Chris' mouth opened. She tried to speak, but found the words struggling to come forth. His phrase went through her brain over and over again and the more she examined it, the more she knew it was familiar.

"Did you just quote me Shakira?" she finally asked, completely unable to hide her disbelief.

He chuckled again and only shrugged a shoulder without giving her any real answer. It was clear to the ear of the eclectic young woman that he did –in fact- quote Shakira.

Instead of continuing the conversation, Owen stood, reached for her hand and pulled Chris to her feet. He took her to the area that was cleared away and meant to be some kind of dance floor and swung her towards her. There were already a couple of people dancing to the Latin music playing over the speakers, so they weren't alone, but it felt a bit like they were.

While he held one hand in his, the other cradled her lower back and together they swayed along the dance floor. Every once and awhile he'd twirl her again, dip her and the like, but a fair portion of their dance was spent close.

Chris couldn't keep the smile from her lips or from laughing whenever Owen would 'attempt' to sing along with the Spanish song. Half the time he wasn't even trying. As a matter of fact, he actually sang the words, _"and something that sounds like taco"_ , causing her to laugh continuously. He ha rhythm and a decent voice, but it was obvious he was only playing around as he all but butchered the song playing.

~!~

Owen walked Chris to her front door like a proper gentleman. It was late by the time they'd made it back to her trailer and while both were a touch tired, they weren't at all at the same time.

Chris stood on the top stair looking down at the man only one step below. She had taken off her shoes which meant that despite standing above him, Chris was only a few inches taller than him, barely enough for Owen to crane his neck.

Holding onto the railing lazily, Owen looked up at her with that damn smirk that still made her stomach flutter like a teenager's. She cocked a brow and smirked right back, almost wondering –yet somehow knowing- what would happen next.

"I had fun tonight," she finally said, "and you're not so bad on your feet."

He chuckled lightly and stepped forward just enough to cause her to have to adjust so he could fit on her stair. Owen couldn't help himself and the comment came before he even bothered to keep it back.

"You should see me _off_ my feet."

The obvious innuendo wasn't lost on her. Chris would have heard it even if Owen didn't lean down to kiss her.

Just like it had last time, the kissing didn't remain timid for long.

Chris had already unlocked her door, but hadn't bothered opening it all the way while she spoke to Owen. Now it was all but shoved open. The two stumbled back into her trailer while they pawed at one another. Once inside, Owen kicked the door closed behind him.

They stumbled across the narrow floor plan until Chris hit some piece of her kitchen. When Owen lifted her enough to set her on it, she realized she had hit her kitchen sink, directly across from the door.

She giggled into his lips as she dipped into the sink causing them to break apart and him to share the chuckle. Instead of bothering to stop, Owen lifted her once again, turned on his heel and barely stepped to the side so he could set her down on her built in kitchen table just to the left of the front door. With a grin, he wiggled his eyes brows at her as though telling her he was a genius problem solver. Chris did little more than use her legs –still wrapped around his waist- to pull him close and kiss him again.

Chris didn't bother thinking about her rule. This was a second date, right? Sure. And second wasn't first, so to hell with the rule.

Together, they peeled off Owen's shirt with little trouble and next came hers. Once Chris tossed her shirt aside, Owen wasn't above ogling. His eyes clouded just a hint and it made her stomach flutter just as much as him holding her waist in his massive hands. Yet for some reason, Chris couldn't fight the urged to be mildly sarcastic. Perhaps it was her way of coping with being stared at.

She looked from her chest to his and the action drew his eye.

"I think yours are still a bit bigger." She said referencing his pecks versus her cup size.

With a grin, he happily –albeit a bit goofily- examined her. Owen even went so far as to bend down and look from one to the other before standing and cupping his own chest.

"Nah," he finally said.

Chris shook her head at his reaction and kissed him again when he closed the distance between them. Owen's fingers threaded through her hair and held her close while Chris' went to work on his belt buckle. No sooner than she had it undone and ready to shift to his jeans did a shrill ring shatter their little world.

"The hell was that?" Owen asked in surprise. The sound had been so loud and so sudden it rattled him.

"It's my phone." She mumbled in disappointment.

Owen relaxed almost immediately and dipped forward again as she began to shift in her seat to pull her phone out of her back pocket.

"Ignore it," he replied a moment before he kissed her neck just below her ear.

Chris sighed and moved into the action, but once she caught sight of the number, she knew she couldn't. Chris groaned her disappointment.

"It's my office," she muttered.

Owen pulled back still brandishing the grin that never seemed to leave his lips.

"So answer it." He replied.

She narrowed her eyes skeptically and had good reason. No sooner than she answered the phone call did Owen pick her up for the third time. She stifled her squeak immediately. He chuckled at her expense.

"Pratt," Chris said into the phone while she almost glared down at him.

Owen wasn't dissuaded and didn't plan to stop. Instead, he headed for the small sitting area just to their side and to the right of the front door. Turning on his heel, he fell easily into the small couch with Chris in his lap. She continued to glare playfully.

"Can't you call Parsons?" she suggested. He liked that she seemed to be trying to get out of it, and was more than willing to continue as she did.

Ignoring her phone call, Owen dipped forward. He kissed her neck again, nipped lightly at her skin and happily moved down at an agonizing pace. He planned to make it way too difficult for her to talk on the phone. Maybe then she'd hang up.

Chris moved into him whether she meant to or not. She did her best to keep from making noise and continued to grip his short hair with her freehand while he tugged at the straps of her bra. She should have been paying attention to the person talking, but Owen was too distracting. One sentence, however, snapped her violently out of her delirium.

" _He said we need to operate immediately."_

"What?" she snapped.

The cold, angry and even tone to her voice and the way Chris had suddenly gone rigid forced Owen to immediately stop. Something was wrong.

"What do you mean operate?" the edge hadn't left her voice. "You said it was only lethargic and nauseas. That doesn't require surgery. You give her fluids and watch her, nothing more."

Owen's brows came together as he watched her. While Chris was still straddling him in nothing but shorts and a bra, he found it difficult to focus on it. He'd only ever seen her so worried once and that was when she had to remove Echo's tooth. It made him well aware that something was seriously wrong with one of her animals, even if he hadn't heard the quip about surgery.

"I'll be there in a moment." She growled before ending the call and standing abruptly. Chris searched for her shirt and quickly began to pull it on. "I'm sorry, but I have to go in."

"What's happening?" he asked as he glided to his feet. The 'mood' was officially gone, but Owen didn't care. He was more worried about the animal.

"Evidently," Chris said with a tight jaw as she turned to face him. Owen had begun to slip on his belt. "One of those _damn_ handlers wasn't paying attention today in the Petting Zoo, _again_ and this time a baby Apatosaurus stole some food out of a child's hand, the cellophane of which is now lodged at the base of its neck and can't get out. They're planning to slice open her throat and remove it."

Owen grimaced sadly for good reason. Not only was that an intense surgery, but this was a baby animal.

"Jesus," he mumbled to himself as he threaded on his shirt.

"Look, I'm sorry, but I have to go."

"Want a ride?"

His question caused her to pause briefly. She was surprised by it, whether she meant to be or not.

"My bike's faster." He said easily with a shrug.

Chris felt herself begin to nod, "Yeah," she said, "Actually, that'd be brilliant. Thanks."

He gave her a light smile and left the trailer. Chris barely managed to lock her door behind her before again leaping onto his bike. Without hesitation, he kicked off and headed for the infirmary.

 **I'm so glad you guys are enjoying it! I haven't decided yet, but either seven or chapter 8 will start to tie in with the movie. Let me know what you think and I hope you enjoyed it!**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN:** A bit long, but I hope you enjoy it. Let me know! And thank you for all of the follows/faves/comments. They make writing this story fun. :)

 **Chapter 7**

Owen was right. The bike was much faster.

They made it to her offices quickly enough. Chris almost hadn't waited for the bike to actually stop before leaping off the back and charging into the building. Owen struggled to keep up. He wasn't surprised by her sudden departure, but he was that she seemed so angry. Again, it wasn't an emotion he'd seen in her before. It was just so out of character.

Owen made his way into the building after her with a light jog in his step so he could keep her in sight. He didn't know this building and didn't really feel like getting lost at midnight after a few drinks.

Chris headed down the wide hall that branched off from the main foyer. The building was large, but simple in design. To the right of the open entryway was the hall that led to the offices, like hers and the ones that belonged to the other doctors and nurses. The hall to the left, the one she'd charged down so angrily, was the hall that led to the operating and examination rooms. They had to be bigger for obvious reasons and had large bays that would open up to the outside world. It made bringing animals in and out much easier.

Owen kept Chris in sight as she headed for one of the only rooms with every light still on. The others had a thin, dull light illuminating them that he could see through the wide windows. It cast them in that stereotypical 'creepy' shadow you hear about in horror movies. He was too busy trying to keep his eyes on Chris to notice.

Already knowing where the animal was made it much easier to find her. Throwing open the double, swinging doors without hesitation, Chris squared herself on those who were inside. The baby Apatosaurus was lying on a table that was raised to meet the operating level. It was hooked up to bags of medication keeping it sedated, monitors to listen to its vitals and was pinned to the steel slab to keep everyone safe.

Apatosaurus looks similar to a Brachiosaur with their long necks, long tails and tree-trunk like legs. Being a baby didn't matter. This creature was still large enough and strong enough for someone of Owen's size to ride it if he chose. But at the moment, the animal looked so helpless, so weak, with its legs, tail and long neck strapped to the table with thick metal cuffs. Owen's brows came together and his stomach turned.

 _Poor thing,_ was all he could think.

"The hell do you think you're doing?" someone yelled.

The man shouting forced Owen to pay attention to the room. Surrounding the table were three people dressed in scrubs with their faces blocked by paper masks, gloves and their hair hidden beneath caps. Owen suddenly realized they'd barged into a clean-room.

"I'd ask the same," Chris shot back, "if I didn't already know you're a knife-happy loon."

"This animal needs the obstruction removed immediately." He shot back angrily.

"On that, we can both agree."

The man in the middle of the three around the table tossed his scalpel down with the same agitation he'd been speaking with.

"This room has been contaminated." He growled as he snapped off his gloves. His eyes shot to hers and he ripped his mask off without hesitation. "When this thing dies, it's on your head, Pratt."

As he stormed off, Chris didn't bother to hide her middle finger. It was clear the two didn't get along in the least, at least not when it came to caring for the dinosaurs.

Owen was bombarded with so much the moment he'd come through those doors that it took him a moment to realize what was even happening. In his hesitation, Chris had already moved to the wall and began barking orders to the others. Seeing her new stance and while the two other doctors –or nurses?- fulfilled her demands, Owen reached her side. Chris was standing in front of a lit wall looking over the x-ray pinned to it. Even without a medical degree, Owen was more than capable of telling this was the animal lying only a few feet away.

"Damn," Chris sighed heavily.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Chris pointed to the film. The tip of her finger was at the base of the animal's throat –he could tell by the bones- and pointing to something opaque that honestly, in his mind, didn't look a great deal different than anything else on the x-ray.

"That's the obstruction." She told him heavily.

Owen's brows came together and he fought the urge to narrow his eyes or step closer. He had to trust her assessment because he truly couldn't tell.

"Okay," he conceded as he stood upright again. He turned to Chris, "Now what?"

"Now," she sighed again and gave him her attention, "We get it out."

He never got the chance to ask how –surgery was clearly not an option- because the nurses had already begun to set everything up. Chris pulled on a pair of long gloves before handing Owen a pair as well. He was a little stunned, but wasn't about to stand on the side-lines if he could be useful. Again, this was only a baby and he didn't want it to die just because someone in the petting zoo wasn't doing their job.

Chris told him to help hold down the animal's neck and keep it as straight as possible. He did along with one of the other nurses. The second one went to Chris' side and handed her something Owen wasn't sure how to classify. The best he could think to compare it to was a drain snake, one of those long augers plumbers used to unclog pipes. The only difference was, this not only had a light on the end, but also a camera too small for him to see, and pincers. The longer he looked at it, the more Owen began to realize it actually looked just like one of Doc Ock's mechanical arms. That was the comic book nerd in him though. Of course he would compare it to a Spiderman villain.

Owen hadn't noticed the second nurse –the one who'd handed Chris the villain arm- had connected it to a monitor. He hadn't seen it until Chris turned on the camera at the other end of the tool and he could see the room through the monitor. He knew what was going to happen next and honestly had to clear his throat and hopefully avoid the gagging sensation he knew he'd feel.

Sure enough, just as he knew she would, Chris fed the tube down the unconscious animal's throat. Her eyes were locked with laser focus on the monitor as she guided it gently forward. Owen again cleared his throat. He couldn't help it. Part of him could almost 'feel' the tube as though it was moving down his own throat. Chris didn't notice. She was too busy.

She continued to guide the tube as gently as possible. It wasn't a difficult task, but tedious and had to be done carefully considering how easily one could scratch or hurt the inner lining of the animal's throat. The task was made even more difficult by the fact that the animal's throat was nearly three feet long and the obstruction was at the base.

Finally –after what felt like an eternity- Chris caught a glimpse of something that wasn't a part of the Apatosaurus. Crumpled and clinging to the side of its throat and clearly blocking a fair amount of the passage way was the cellophane. With a relieved sigh, Chris began to fiddle with the snake. To Owen's surprise, the end of it opened up and with an extreme level of dexterity, Chris grasped the thickest bunch of plastic and began to gently tug at it.

Air in the operating room had gone thick and breathing was difficult while they watched as she tenderly began to remove the obstruction. Even Owen was fixed to the sight. Somehow, the gagging sensation he'd been feeling since Chris threaded the tube down the animal's throat was gone and he found himself almost rooting for her to succeed in the simple task.

Another few, long minutes pass before they could hear the sound of the cellophane. Owen's gaze shifted to the Apatosaurus' mouth and an instant later the cellophane appeared. Almost immediately the room relaxed and the nurses went about preparing to rouse the animal. With a wide, victorious smile, Chris snatched the chunk of thin plastic out of the tube's pincers and finally looked to Owen.

"Ha." She smiled wide.

Her joy with the situation made him smile, too.

Clean up happened quickly and easily and the animal had been put once again on fluids to hydrate it. The table it was on had been lowered to the ground once more –a feature that made moving animals that weighed tons so much easier- and disengaged from the locks keeping it in place. They wheeled her to the holding room just off the operating room. Chris knelt beside it and gently cradled its head. Owen –who'd been lingering for a little while- felt himself doing the same on the other side of the animal. Chris noticed him and finally glanced up.

"You don't have to stick around." She told him. Owen looked up from the Apatosaurus and met her stare. "I can get a ride from someone else. You don't have to keep hangin' about."

He smiled warmly and shrugged a shoulder.

"I don't have any plans."

Chris smiled kindly. She had to admit, she was relieved he didn't seem agitated that she'd dragged him into the situation.

After a little while, the baby animal began to rouse. That's what Chris had wanted to see. She wanted to make sure it was alright after the anesthesia. Still holding it gently, Chris did her best to keep it from flailing its giant neck as it woke. Obviously it was a bit startled, but heavily drugged.

Eventually, once she was on her feet again and Chris had actually seen her drink something without throwing it back up, she was ready to go home for the night. That had been part of the issue. Not only was the medication unnecessary, but Chris wanted to make sure the animal's throat wasn't affected by her probe.

After making sure the staff knew what to do while she was gone to get what sleep she could, Chris and Owen left. He drove her home and again they found themselves lingering on her front porch.

By this time, the mood had officially died and both were starting to feel the late hour. With a glance to her phone, Chris was and wasn't surprised that it was just after three in the morning. They'd been at her office for just over three hours. Again, it wasn't completely shocking, but she'd been surprised something that felt like it took minutes took so long.

"Sorry again," she told him with a heavy, tired sigh.

"Nah, don't be." He replied easily. "Not my worst date."

Chris laughed lightly and gave him a gentle nod. She did her best not to ask if the worst was Claire, and was glad the question didn't actually leave her lips.

Like he had before, Owen stepped up and joined her on her level and like before he kissed her. Chris returned the affection and while she would have liked to continue, both knew they wouldn't. Again, they were just too tired.

They parted when Owen stepped back down to the ground. He was smirking again which caused her to roll her eyes at him.

"'Night." She told him.

"Night." He smiled.

Chris had closed her door only a moment before she heard his bike and Owen was gone. She fell into bed a moment later and passed out completely.

~!~

Chris and Owen hadn't spoken much since their Friday night. It wasn't that they didn't want to, only that they were both busier than normal. Chris was still checking on her animals and had reamed the handlers in the petting zoo for their slip. Owen heard rumors about it and almost wished he'd been there to see it. After witnessing what the poor animal had gone through because of someone's slip, he almost wanted to see them put in their places. Some people just didn't seem to care that these were actual living animals.

After hearing about Chris' 'talk' with the handlers, new protocol was put into place to keep the animals safe. She hated that she had to deal with Claire, but appealing to the redhead's bottom line was always the best way to ensure things got done. Chris simply told her that with the rules in place, the _assets_ would be safer which meant the death toll would be lower, therefore the cost would be too. After leaving the meeting, Chris actually had a foul taste in her mouth for calling her dinosaurs _assets_ and talking about their possible deaths as nothing more than numbers on a spreadsheet.

She shook the disgust from her shoulders and headed for the Raptor paddock.

Chris had been called to the raptor paddock for some reason, and she wasn't sure for what. Owen hadn't been the one to call her and that put her on end. No one told her if anything was wrong, only that she had to be there.

Masrani was on the island, she knew that, because people always got a little weird when their boss's, boss's boss appeared. It was a legitimate reaction when the owner appeared, but from the small encounters Chris had with the man, the amount of tension seemed unfounded. He was a nice man, polite and kind. She never understood why people freaked out like they did, but they did every time he came.

When she pulled up to the enclosure, Chris saw a number of extra people walking around that she didn't recognize. Her brows came together curiously. Something was obviously happening.

She turned off the car, parked and headed up to the catwalk where she saw Barry. Owen was busy with the girls. The problem was, there were strangers standing near Barry too. Something was most definitely happening.

The jaunt up the steps was one she'd made a hundred times already and easily done. Glancing sideways at the strangers, she paid them only passing, skeptical attention before reaching the Frenchman. He glanced to her and smiled.

"Hey," she greeted.

"Hi."

She was about to ask what was happening before Owen called loudly.

"That's damn good." He declared.

His voice drew her eye. He was standing in the center of the catwalk overlooking the paddock and had the girls standing at attention. She decided to watch. They'd been getting better –keeping their attention locked a little longer each time- and Chris wanted to see if this was the time they listened completely.

"And, we're movin'!" Owen called.

With a hand still raised, he walked along the catwalk, through the center and to another branch that went in another direction. He stopped by the bucket fastened to the railing.

"Good," he said approvingly. "That is damn good." He reached into the bucket and pulled out a trio of frozen mice. "See? And this is what you get. Charlie, there you go!" he launched a mouse at her. "Echo, and Delta!" each of them were given their respective treats before Owen reached into the bucket and pulled out a rat. "Blue, this is for you."

He tossed it to his Beta and she happily caught it, swallowing the dead rodent with one gulp.

"Hold!" he continued to guide them. "Eyes up!" they each rose a hint in unison. He waited for a count of five. "And, go!"

When he waved his hand and dismissed them, the four galloped off back into their paddock. It was an incredible sight. Chris immediately smiled wide and everyone else clapped their congratulations.

Barry clapped as he headed for his friend. He was laughing, excited and proud like everyone else. Barry reached for Owen, gave him the standard 'guy hug' and couldn't stop smiling.

"You finally did it, man." He beamed.

Owen's face was still intense. He was glad he'd finally gotten the girls to comply, but he was already thinking about what else he could possibly do.

"Thanks man," he said when he finally looked up and spotted Chris coming towards him. His brows came together and he tilted his head marginally to the side, "Hey." He was surprised to see her.

"Hey yourself." She smiled. "That was amazin'. You're gettin' better at that. It's almost like they respect ya or somethin'." She openly teased him.

Owen smirked and rolled his eyes at her jab.

"What are you doing here? Girls don't have a check up for another two weeks."

"No idea." She told him honestly. "Someone called the office, left a message tellin' me to come here. Thought it was you, but they said it wasn't. Some other bloke."

Owen opened his mouth to offer his opinion, but his words were cut short when his name was bellowed from across the paddock.

"Owen!"

Attention shifted to a large man coming their way. Chris didn't recognize him, but it was clear most everyone else did. When he congratulated the men he passed on his way towards Owen, they each harbored a look that said _great, it's this guy again_. It was clear to Chris he was no one's favorite.

Still, he beamed widely and seemed happy about what he'd seen as he sauntered towards them. Both Barry and Owen were immediately annoyed, which Chris thought odd.

"I was startin' to think I hired the wrong guys, but damn, you got 'em eating out of you palm." He said as he came closer.

That one sentence alone let Chris know who the man was and explained why Owen and Barry –along with everyone else- weren't happy to see him. It was someone from _InGen._

"You came on a good day," Owen said politely as he shook the man's hand. "It's not usually a happy ending."

"That why you're not sending in your reports?"

"We've been busy." Barry told him in a lackluster voice.

"But not too busy to cash in your paychecks." He laughed, even going so far as to mock punching Barry in the gut, like they were friends and it was all in good jest.

Chris felt herself raise a brow. This guy… well, he was in a class all his own. She wasn't sure if she liked him or not. He seemed to be trying really hard to make the others see him as 'just one of the guys' and if he was, he wouldn't need to try and force it.

But as he stood there talking to Owen and Barry, the stranger's eyes shifted to Chris.

"And you must be Doctor Pratt." He said as he stepped forward and offered his hand. "Call me Hoskins."

"Pleasure," she said despite feeling it may not be.

"You're the animals' vet, right?"

Her brows came together slightly in curiosity.

"Yes sir." She nodded.

"Good. I was hopin' to meet you. When I called your office, they said you was out. Glad you got my message."

"You're the one that called for me?" she asked. He nodded. "Can I ask what for? No one seems to know."

"Ah!" he exclaimed for some reason. "Aussie, huh?"

"Yes sir." She nodded again and felt a pit in her stomach because she knew what was coming next.

"Where ya from?"

"Melbourne." She didn't sound enthusiastic.

"You ever put any shrimp on the _barbie_? Maybe have a _pint_ to go with it, _mate?_ "

Every word people generally associated with Australia was said with a thick –bad- Australian accent. She expected as much, but was annoyed it happened at all. Most people said the same thing, or a variation of it, when they found out she was from _the land down unda._ It kind of made her want to punch him, and Owen must have been able to tell because he quickly jumped into the conversation.

"So," he chimed, drawing Hoskins' attention from Chris. "What can I do for you, buddy?"

He squared himself on Owen and planted his hands firmly on his hips.

"A field test." He said.

Owen and Barry both immediately rolled their eyes. Owen turned his back and headed down the catwalk. He jerked his head to the side silently telling Chris to join him. She did, while Barry went off in another direction and Hoskins followed.

"Hey," Hoskins quickly put himself right beside Owen which pushed Chris just behind. She glared at the back of his head, but said nothing. "I've just seen that they can respond to commands. We need to take the research and get it on its feet."

"They're wild animals, Hoskins." Owen said as though he'd been repeating the statement more times than he could count. "Trust me, you don't want them in the field."

"I just saw a bond, a real bond, between man and beast." He quickened his pace and put himself in Owen's path, forcing the young man to stop. "With your guidance and the vet here," he pointed at Chris, "we can take these guys out into the field. You control them, she keeps them healthy."

Chris' brows rose high. So that's why she was called out to the paddock? Because some crazy jackass wanted to let the Raptors loose? Jesus…

"You mad?" Chris asked him in all sincerity. She honestly thought he was crazy.

Hoskins only glanced to her briefly before his eyes fell to an increasingly annoyed Owen.

"You're in my way." Owen told him tersely.

"Come on," Hoskins sighed, "You and me, we're the same." Chris scoffed before she could stop herself. "We're dogs of war." He continued, ignoring her reaction. "We know that the military needs to reduce casualties. Some people think robots are the future."

Owen rolled his eyes, shook his head in disbelief and stepped around Hoskins. Chris found herself following him again since it seemed she was meant to be in on this plot.

"Look, nature already gave us perfected killing machines over 75 million years ago." They reached the outlining edge of the paddock where Barry rejoined them. "And we've already seen they can take orders."

Barry scoffed and shook his head.

"We finally get it perfected, and what's the first thing he says? Make a weapon?" he said in disbelief.

"Oh come on, gents?" Hoskins sighed heavily as the walk continued. "It's grown up time now. Drones can't search tunnels and caves, and they're hack-able. When the real war breaks out, all that fancy tech is gonna go dark."

"Yeah, but that tech's not gonna eat them if they forget to feed it." Owen replied.

Hoskins went on to try and pitch the idea of making raptors into weapons, but it was perhaps some of the most ridiculous things Chris had ever heard. And when he made the quip about exterminating rogues, she couldn't take it much longer.

"Bloody stupid." She muttered as she walked away.

Owen watched her walk away from the idiot Hoskins in favor of being anywhere else, and he didn't blame her. Trouble was, Barry soon followed suit leaving Owen alone with the 'soldier', something he truly hated. Somehow, every time Hoskins was in town, he always managed to cling to Owen like a damn shadow.

Chris and Barry stood on the main level near her jeep. She was struggling with not leaving immediately.

"Is he serious?" she asked under her breath.

"Afraid so." Barry replied. "Comes every few months attempting to make the same pitch."

She shook her head at his ignorance. How could Hoskins honestly think letting those creatures loose was a good idea? He lacked the proper fear and respect for them. They were wild animals, and one of the most dangerous at that.

Idiot.

Sudden screaming drew the two towards the paddock once more. To their shock, one of the workers had tumbled into the enclosure. Chris jumped and let out a light gasp at the sight. She and Barry immediately raced for the pin. When they reached the gate, they were horrified to see Owen darting into the enclosure.

"Owen, no!" Barry yelled.

"Owen!" Chris screamed.

Barry charged into the pin between the outside and the enclosure –the one that held the individual harnesses for the raptors- and reached for the employee who'd fallen. Chris clutched at the gate and struggled with what to do. She wanted to race in there and pull Owen the Moron out of the enclosure, but there was no way the girls wouldn't attack her. They may comply when she was around, but she was smart enough to know they barely tolerated her. Owen, they respected. If there was anyone that could hold them off, it was him. If she went into the mix, she knew they'd attack. So, unfortunately, she was stuck in the background watching the terrifying scene play out.

Her heart thundered in her chest and she could hear her blood pumping. Her grip on the chain link was so fierce, it was digging into her skin, but she couldn't stop. She was too scared to relent or calm.

Owen dove into the cage just as they gate closed behind him. Almost the same instant, the girls lunged and smashed their faces into it. Thank god the steel held. Chris immediately breathed easier and let her head fall against the warm metal.

Barry helped Owen to his feet and after speaking to the poor guy who'd fallen into the cage, Owen turned towards the gate to exit. Hoskins was grinning like Owen had shown him something that only proved his point. Smiling at some stupid point he thought he made, Hoskins walked off.

Owen shook his head and opened the cage door. As he closed it behind him, Chris reared back and punched him square in the chest. His brows furrowed tightly, his eyes shot to her and his mouth opened as though he was going to speak, but words didn't immediately come. When he looked at Chris, fear and anger were clearly written across her features.

Owen took a breath and sighed. He rubbed the spot on his chest where he could still feel the impressions of her knuckles and again opened his mouth –this time to apologize- but didn't have the chance. Chris lunged forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. He was temporarily surprised by the hug and didn't immediately react, but eventually, he hugged her back.

"You damned idiot." She sighed.

He chuckled lightly and smiled crookedly.

"Yeah," he replied, "I get that a lot."

Chris pulled away and released him. She still looked mad and again punched him in the chest.

"Ow!" he finally got out as he rubbed the spot in the center of his chest. "Quit hittin' me."

"Quit bein' so bloody reckless." She shot back in annoyance.

Another crooked grin touched his lips and while he kept rubbing the forming bruise, his cockiness returned.

"You worried about me?"

She openly glared and growled under her breath.

"Ass," she grumbled as she turned to leave.

Owen continued to chuckle to himself, but had to admit the punches hurt. She was stronger than she looked, although that shouldn't have surprised him considering what she did for a living.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN:** Coarse language. lol. Enjoy! And let me know what you think.

 **Chapter 8**

Chris was making her way through the building, still annoyed and even more so since she had just left a meeting with HR. Human Resources… sometimes they were necessary, but other times they were little more than pains in the ass. This situation was the latter. Evidently, a few of the handlers from the petting zoo had complained about Chris' 'extreme' handling of the incident with the baby dino, and -to top it off- her colleague complained as well because she'd stormed into a clean room and ruined his operation. The complaints were all generated from the same incident, just different aspects of it.

After telling them her side of the story –the right side as far as she was concerned- Chris was allowed to leave. Eventually, she knew they'd see it her way, but she still wasted two hours in their office beforehand. True, she could've been a little nicer when dealing with the handlers, but evidently they just needed to learn. After all, this was far from the first time she had to take care of a situation caused by one of them not paying attention.

Agitated that she'd been called into the principal's office and still on edge about what happened at the Raptor paddock, Chris wanted nothing more than to get a drink. There was no way this day could get any worse.

As she rounded a corner towards the front of the building, Chris wasn't paying attention and smashed into someone's chest. She bounced back, huffed from the shock of it, and straightened herself up to see Owen the obstacle she'd hit.

"Owen, what the hell-" and then she smelled it. "Christ," she pressed her curled index finger to her nose, "Did you bathe in petrol?"

"Long story." He snapped as he stepped around her.

His short answer and the way he was behaving worried her. Chris found herself following after him without really knowing why.

"What's happened?" she asked. He didn't reply and kept marching towards his destination. Chris grabbed his arm and jerked him back, forcing him to turn and face her. She could see anger and fear in his eyes and it worried her. "What's happened?" she asked slower than before.

Owen's jaw tensed and relaxed like he was chewing on the inside of his cheek. His eyes darted around before settling on her once again.

"You know that giant enclosure they've been working on for the past six months?" he asked. Chris nodded. That was the paddock she accidently drove to and was shooed away from because she lacked clearance. There had been rumors circulating about what monstrosity might be lingering behind walls built that high. "I finally got to see what the _fuck_ they've been hiding in there."

"Okay," she held up her hands and gently put them on his chest, hoping to calm him. "Just… just tell me what's goin' on."

He leaned forward just enough to close the distance between them like he wanted to ensure she knew the gravity of the situation.

"It got out." He told her darkly. Chris' brows came together.

"What is it?"

"I don't know." He stood upright and shrugged sarcastically. "It's something they made in that fuckin' lab of theirs. Evidently, they shoved a bunch of shit into a blender and spit that thing out. It's part T-Rex, but apparently, that's all anybody's _cleared_ to know."

"So… it's big."

He scoffed. It was clear _big_ was an understatement.

"They don't know what they're up against." He said.

As though that was all he needed to explain himself, Owen started off down the hall again. Chris still had questions -so very many questions- and found herself following after him. It was big… and it got out… okay. That was bad enough, yes, but the paddock was miles from the park and surely Asset Containment could handle it, right?

So why was Owen so worried? What had the guy who jumped into the Raptor enclosure earlier that day so terrified?

She had leapt into the elevator with him when he reached it. Owen barely glanced to his side. He didn't care that she followed. He was still too angry and as a result, smashed the knuckle of his index finger into the button for the basement. The Control Room.

No sooner than the doors dinged and opened again did Owen charge into the Control Room without a second thought.

"What the hell happened out there?" he demanded angrily. The security guard continued to try and guide them out, but neither Chris nor Owen seemed willing to listen. Instead, Owen's ire was focused on Claire –who couldn't be less interested in what he had to say. "There are thermal cameras all over that paddock. She did not just disappear."

Chris' attention snapped to him. Disappear?

With a sigh, Claire turned to face him.

"It must have been… some kind of technical malfunction." She offered uncaringly.

"Were you not watching?" he shot back. "She marked up that wall as a distraction. She wanted us to _think_ she escaped."

"Oh my god," Chris muttered. Her gut turned into knots.

"Hold on," Claire snapped as she closed the distance between her and Owen. "We are talking about an animal here."

"A highly intelligent animal." He told her.

"400 meters to the beacon." One of the techs chimed.

The young woman's voice drew attention to the massive screens ahead. Chris, Owen and the others watched as the men wearing body cameras drove and soon parked. When they exited their vehicles, Owen felt a pit form in his stomach at what he saw in their hands.

"You're going after her with non-lethals?"

"We have 26 million in that asset," Masrani said. Chris hadn't even noticed him before he spoke. "We can't just kill it."

Owen and Chris continued to watch the screens in disbelief and horror.

"Those men are going to die." Chris said. The dread she felt wouldn't let anything else escape her lips.

Owen was shaking his head.

"You need to call this mission off." He said. No one moved, or spoke. His fear was rising and twisting into anger. "Call it off, now!" he said sternly.

"You are not in control here!" Claire yelled.

The tension in the Control Room was growing to an unimaginable degree. Something as simple as breathing was becoming difficult.

Everyone watched –transfixed- to the screens as the team closed in on the beacon. They watched as the man in the lead knelt down and picked up something blinking.

"What is that?" Masrani muttered.

"It's the tracking implant." Owen said with growing anger. "She clawed it out."

"How would it know to do that?" Claire asked with an air of confusion.

"She remembered where they put it in." Chris replied. That had to be it. How else would you explain it? It wasn't as though the animal guessed. "It set a trap."

"No," Claire's voice was soft and distant. "That's not possible… it's just an animal."

" _It can camouflage!"_ was suddenly yelled by one of the men on the screens.

What followed was nothing less than horrifying. Screams filled the air along with the sounds of gunshots and ferocious roars. One by one, the beacons that showed the team's vital signs began to flat line. One, two, three… half the team… more screaming… fear…

Chris couldn't catch her breath as she listened to half a dozen people die in one of the worst ways imaginable. She felt nauseous.

Owen –who had taken a spot on the lower level closest to the screens- turned to face Claire.

"Evacuate the park." He told her.

"We'd never reopen."

Her words shocked Chris out of her delirium.

"Are you fuckin' kiddin' me?!" she demanded. "People have died. How many more lives are you willin' to risk? This, now, is your best case scenario." Claire barely glanced over her shoulder at Chris. She didn't want to meet the irate young woman's face. "There are children in this bloody park! You cannot be that stupid."

"You made a genetic hybrid," Owen's voice was low and angry, "Raised it in captivity. She is seeing all of this for the first time. She does not even know what she it. She will kill everything that moves."

"You think the animal is contemplating its own existence?" Masrani asked far too casually for Chris' liking.

"She is learning where she fits on the food chain." Owen said. "And I'm not sure you want her to figure that out. Now, Asset Containment can use live ammunition in an emergency situation and you have an M134 in your armory. Put it on a chopper and smoke this thing."

"We have families here." Claire snapped. "I am not going to turn this place into some kind of a warzone."

"You already have."

"Mr. Grady," her voice was tense. "If you're not going to help, then there's no reason for you to be in here."

He growled, tried to bite his tongue and instead lashed out, swiping away a menagerie of small dinosaur toys off a tech's desk before storming towards the door. Chris shook her head. She planned to leave with Owen. Clearly, no one in the Control Room gave a damn, but she stepped closer to Claire first. The redhead barely took the effort to turn her head and face the Aussie.

"You either kill it outside the park, or get ready to watch those families die." She said darkly.

Claire straightened her back and stood a bit higher, but refused to speak back. Chris scoffed and shook her head.

"Useless woman." She snapped under her breath, but just loud enough she knew Claire heard her.

Chris headed for the elevator and waited for Owen to join her. He paused and spoke to Masrani.

"I'd have a word with your people in the lab." He said tersely, "Because that thing, is no dinosaur."

And with that, he joined Chris. Together, they rode the elevator up and out of the basement where the Control Room sat.

When they made it to the main floor, the pair of them began to push through patrons who seemed entirely oblivious to what was happening around them.

"They're going to try and keep that thing alive." Owen said as he side-stepped a family. "It gonna kill a lot more people before it's done."

"I know." She muttered as she walked along side him.

Both of them had seen –a hundred times it seemed- how often the company's bottom line was more important than anything else. The people of _InGen_ cared about how much money they made and little more. On more than one occasion, Chris had seen them euthanize animals because tending to them cost more than simply 'making a new one'. Disgusting business practice. Could you imagine zoos that did that? Horrible people.

Chris had managed to pull Owen away from a security guard he was berating because it would serve no purpose in the end to have a fist fight break out between them.

"Come _on_ ," she growled through her teeth as she jerked him away. Owen eventually fell under her guidance and followed Chris. She kept their elbows linked in case he decided to try and start another fight. "We need to figure out how to evacuate the island."

"How?" he asked with an edge. "There isn't a fire alarm big enough."

She rolled her eyes and tried not to be angry with him. It wasn't Owen, after all, it was the situation they found themselves in that was causing the attitude.

Tightening her hold, Chris guided Owen away from the masses and towards a small corner where there was little foot traffic and looked up at him.

"The island is evacuated for three reasons, yeah?" she pressed. Chris began to count on her fingers. "Natural disaster." That included hurricanes and storms. "Maintenance." That meant large scale things like a leaking gas line, water lines, etc. "And structural." That was supposed to mean if maintenance was needed on a large scale for predators only, like –for example- if the T-Rex paddock magically lost a wall that needed to be rebuilt. While the park had protocol that dictated taking the animals to a separate holding tank further inland, it's enclosure was still in the middle of a high-traffic area which meant doing it when the park was closed was best. "We need to figure out how to make that happen, blame it on something stupid so there isn't panic."

"How?" he dared. "Official evacuation orders only come out of that control room, and those idiots aren't going to do anything about it."

"I know," she tried to keep him calm because he was nearly shaking he was so mad.

Owen took a deep breath and did his best to relax, but he couldn't for obvious reason. As his eyes danced around the building, he saw nothing but families ignorant to what was actually coming. He saw that monster, saw what it could do and knew how smart it really was. The pit in his stomach grew.

As he looked around, he noticed Claire and called out to her. She spun in her spot and seemed immediately relieved to see Owen which was an odd change considering she'd already yelled at him more than once in less than a half an hour.

"I need you." She said as she rushed for him.

"Okay," he muttered unsurely.

"My nephews." She sounded panicked. "My nephews are in the valley. Please, if anything happens to them…"

Owen took her arm and guided her away from the thicket of people.

"How old are they?"

"The uh… the older one, he's uh, he's high school age," she began to babble, "And the younger one, he's a few years younger, maybe junior high."

Both Chris and Owen looked at her as though they couldn't believe what she was saying.

"You don't know how old your nephews are?" Chris found herself asking.

Claire shot her a glare, but it lost fair amount of its strength considering she was clearly terrified. That emotion and the fact children seemed to be lost were perhaps the only reasons Chris didn't say something else to the redhead.

"Okay, okay," Owen said as softly as he could. He almost acted like he was afraid she might get hysterical at any moment. He probably wasn't wrong. "But first, you need to evacuate the island, Claire." Her eyes shot to him with laser focus. "I'm not kidding. This is only going to get worse with all of these people here."

"I can't." she whispered.

"Tell them a tropical storm's comin'." Chris offered. "Tell them… tell them the main water line to the island's been ruptured and the toilets no longer work." She was getting frustrated. "These people _have_ to get out of here." Claire barely looked at Chris, but the Aussie held her eye. "Either evacuate it now and spend a month doin' PR, or wait until these people start dyin' and the world _knows_ an asset got loose."

Claire seemed to be struggling with the fact that she could lose her job and hesitated to say anything. Clearly, Owen would help her regardless of whether or not she agreed, but both he and Chris knew this was perhaps the best time to get the redhead to see logic.

"Okay," she muttered as she started to nod, "Okay." Her eyes went to Owen. "We have to get my nephews."

The relief the pair felt was incalculable.

"We will." He told Claire. Owen turned to Chris. "I need you to do me a favor."

"Of course." She nodded.

"Go to the paddock, tell Barry what's going on." He said. "Tell him to keep the girls on lockdown. God only knows what Hoskins is doing over there."

"Yeah," she replied unenthusiastically. "Yeah, sure. Just…" Chris glanced to Claire. She turned her back to the redhead and gave Owen her attention. "Be careful, all right?"

A cocky smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. Owen narrowed his eyes on her.

"You worried about me?" he openly teased.

Chris took in a deep breath, chewed on the inside of her cheek and glared at him. Without warning, she punched him again in the chest, but it held half of the power as her last hits, so Owen knew it wasn't meant to hurt him. Instead, he grunted from the force and chuckled.

"Ass," she hissed under her breath again as she headed for the doors.

~!~

Ferries to Jurassic World held two hundred people. Jurassic World currently had ten ferries in its inventory so they could run at regular intervals and there could be spares when maintenance was needed. Ten boats, two hundred passengers at a time meant that all at once, two thousand people could leave the island at a time. That was nowhere near enough when there was currently over twenty thousand. As a result of their limitations, it would take twelve trips, and that didn't include the employees. Worse yet, trips from the island to the mainland took roughly a half an hour.

Thankfully, evacuations were done efficiently. At least they were designed to. Truthfully, this was only the third time it had to be employed since the park's opening a decade prior. Usually, when storms were on the way, the park wouldn't risk opening, but twice before they had appeared randomly causing an evacuation to be needed. But they moved smoothly.

The boats would come and go every ten minutes or so, meaning people were constantly leaving. As one ship left the docks, a second on the other side of the wooden planks was being loaded. As it was, another ferry was slipping into the now-vacant place on the dock left by the first ferry. Then, the second boat would leave as the new one was loaded. As it was loaded, yet another new boat would slip into the open slot on the dock and so on and so forth. By the time the final ferry was loaded, the first one was already back and ready to take more passengers.

It was slow, but steady and that was the point. So long as they kept up this pace, it would only take about an hour and a half, maybe two, for the island to be evacuated of civilians. The trouble was, that was a long time for something to go wrong.

Chris had done as Owen asked. She'd been trying to get a hold of Barry for awhile now without luck. She couldn't get through on the cell phone and the radio didn't seem to be working well, either. All anyone knew was there was an asset out of containment, but they had to be aware it was more than that. Barry and the others had to know that the monstrosity was worse than anything they had under their care.

It took her far too long to get through the barricades they'd set up leading to that half of the island. Quarantine was tried, but it didn't matter with something that big. In truth, they were just trying to keep people out.

Chris argued with the guards for much longer than she had the patience for. She argued with them so long, in fact, that sirens began to echo around them. Chris spun in her place and looked instinctively towards the park, but that wasn't the problem. The problem was flying towards it.

"Oh my god…" she muttered at the sight of a hundred prehistoric birds of pray emerged from the aviary like a plume of death.

Her heart sank and she prayed that most –if not all- of the civilians had gotten off the island. It had been nearly two hours since the evacuation began, so she could only pray they did.

When the guards were busy watching the animals sail through the air, she took her chance. Jumping back into her jeep, Chris quickly sped off. She heard them shouting at her when they realized she was breaking through their 'impenetrable' barricade, but honestly, did they expect her to stop?

She sped through the familiar winding roads towards the Raptor paddock and hoped Barry was still there. If anything, she could tell him exactly what was happening and they could get the majority of the employees out there away. After all, without its tracking node, the Indominus Rex could have been anywhere and the Raptor enclosure was in the middle of nowhere. It could camouflage, it was fast and it was angry. Barry and the others were at risk as long as they were in the middle of nowhere. Chris didn't know that the monster was the reason the aviary was breached, only that it could be lingering in the trees somewhere in the valley.

~!~

Owen and a faction of the Asset Containment team fired multiple rounds of liquid tranquilizer at the flying monsters weaving between the buildings. There was just shy of four hundred civilians left on the island, but thankfully they were safely ensconced within the amphitheater. One of the last two ferries was waiting in the dock, the second was on the horizon, but no one was stupid enough to let the people out of the building so long as the dinosaurs dominated the sky.

Without warning, Owen was taken violently to the ground by a Dimorphodon -a little flying bastard with a mock T-Rex head. That's how most saw them, at least.

He fended off the monster as best he could, but the sheer amount of muscle in something so small was substantial. He tried to keep his head back and its massive snapping jaws away, but being pinned to the ground left him nowhere to go.

Suddenly, Claire smashed the butt of his gun against the side of the animal's skull. It whimpered and fell to the ground beside Owen. Claire immediately shot it with a small handful of darts.

She was breathing heavy, clearly full of adrenaline and almost dared the animal to move. When it didn't, she reached down and helped Owen to his feet. He couldn't wipe the surprise from his face as he took back his weapon. Part of him was almost proud, and she could see it.

Still filled with adrenaline and a swarm of other emotions, Claire lunged forward and planted her lips firmly to Owen's. He was stunned by the action and his brain had trouble comprehending what was happening. Eventually, it seemed to come to terms with the situation.

He gently pushed her back and stepped away.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." He said as he put a little space between them. "What was that all about?"

She seemed flustered and shifted on her feet, but it was difficult to tell how much of that was because of the incident, or her embarrassment.

"I just thought… you know," she continued to move uncomfortably, "In the heat of the moment… I saved your life." She was almost becoming snippy the longer she had to explain herself. "Oh come on, we've spent all day together."

Owen's brows slowly rose as he looked at her in disbelief.

" _That's_ why you kissed me?" he didn't mean to sound rude, but his brain was struggling to pick through the information –or lack there of.

"Well yeah…" Claire stammered under her breath, "I mean, you helped me find the boys."

"Yeah," he said as though it should have been obvious, "Because the alternative would have been to let your nephews – _kids_ ," he stressed, "be eaten by a giant, mutant killing machine your lab rats cooked up."

She glowered at him, but she really wasn't a threatening person.

"Fine," she chimed. "Forget it ever happened. Clearly, I was mistaken." She was all 'huffy' again, like she got when she was annoyed. It caused Owen to just eye her.

"Sorry?" he shrugged. He wasn't sure what to say and the situation was becoming awkward.

"No, it's fine." She said with a false tone of uncaring. It sounded forced and it was. Claire would barely even look at him now, but she did feel the need to ask something. She knew she was an attractive woman, she and Owen had dated and he always flirted, so there had to be a reason why he didn't want to kiss her. "I suppose that means you're seeing someone, then." She said with more sarcasm than she realized.

"Yeah," he nodded. Her attention snapped to him. That wasn't the answer she expected. "I am, actually." She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. "Come on."

Owen headed for the two boys that had been shouting Claire's name and were lingering a few feet away while the adults talked.

He hadn't lied to Claire, not really at least. Obviously, two dates didn't constitute a relationship with Chris, but he felt like he had to say something. He didn't intend to date anyone else at the moment, so of course he said something.

Besides, didn't they have more important things to worry about than his dating status? Honestly…


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Chris had just told Barry what was happening and he seemed to have a slight idea already.

" _Merde_." He growled. Chris knew curse words in a handful of languages and knew he muttered _shit_ in French. She agreed. "That it explains the troops I saw on the beach."

"Troops?" a pit grew in her stomach. Chris' shoulders slumped and her head fell. "Jesus,"

She was about to ask what else he saw when someone's bellowing voice interrupted her.

"Gentlemen!" Hoskins called as he sauntered forward followed closely by soldiers decked out in black military gear. "This is a Code Red situation and you will now be taking orders from me!" he came to a stop a few short yards from Barry and Chris and stood in the center of the parking lot. He beamed with a grin Chris wanted to slap of his face. His eyes fell to her. "Good, Doc, you're here." He pointed at her. "I'm gonna need you."

Chris glanced to Barry who shared her annoyed, nervous stare.

"Now!" Hoskins called out to the other handlers, "I'm gonna need these animals wrangled into their pens!"

"Why?" Chris asked.

Hoskins turned to her and his smirk grew. He began to saunter closer with his hands on his hips as he beamed proudly about something.

"I looked you up, Doc." He said, completely ignoring her question. "Not just a vet, are you?" she narrowed her eyes angrily on him. "Doctorate in Paleontology from Yale, second in your class, and another in vet studies –specializing in exotics- from ANU where you also got a couple of Masters Degrees and Bachelors in zoology, biology, chemistry and microbiology." He stood above her and kept his smirk. He looked over her with a slimy, unsettling stare that she assumed he thought was charming. It made her stomach turn. "You're one of the top five experts in the world when it comes to these animals." He looked over her again and took a deep breath before exhaling slowly and shifting his tone to a more 'sultry' one. "You're an impressive woman."

She glared openly and squared herself on him almost daring him to try something stupid. Chris knew her academic record. She'd been a bookworm all her life and wanted to study dinosaurs since childhood. Gathering the degrees needed to actually work with the animals seemed the next logical step and she had the crippling debt to prove it, at least before getting a job at _InGen_ she did.

Preparations were soon underway. Two at a time, the girls were loaded into the pens. Chris went about checking them to ensure they were as healthy as they could be. She knew their stress levels were high and wasn't surprised to see a spike in their blood pressure as a result.

She did her best to calm them, but each began to thrash when someone came forward with some kind of contraption.

"The hell is that?" she snapped at the soldier.

"It's a camera." Hoskins chimed as he stepped forward. "We strap them to these guys' heads, that way we can see everything they see." He motioned to the soldier. "Go ahead."

The soldier began to step forward, but was hesitant for obvious reasons. He held up the contraption and began to tremble. Charlie –the Raptor he was approaching- began to growl, hiss and struggle within her confines. The soldier flinched.

"Give it here," Chris snapped as she stepped forward and snatched the headset away from the soldier.

She wasn't happy about the Raptors being outfitted, but she would rather be the one to do it than one of those inept jack-holes.

Cooing softly and doing her best to keep the animal calm, Chris approached Charlie and gently threaded the harness on. Barry came forward to help her since the bit holding Charlie's head still made it difficult to maneuver. She gave him a nod of thanks and within a few short minutes, they had it on. Next came Delta.

When they were finished, the girls were guided into the other pens that would later release them. Echo and Blue were loaded into the harnesses and soon outfitted with their own cameras.

As they had before, techs came forward to ensure the cameras worked properly. Chris stood back and leaned against the adjacent side of the cage with her arms crossed over her chest. She wasn't happy and now having time to think about everything that happened, she was worried about Owen. The sun had long since set and it had been five hours or better since she'd spoken to him. Chris was scared something might have happened.

Her brows came together and she began to chew on her bottom lip. He had to be alright…

Barry spoke to Hoskins as the older man looked over the Raptors. She paid them only passing attention because honestly, she didn't care.

The sound of a fast approaching engine soon drew attention, however. Chris pushed herself away from the grate and shifted to see an SUV speeding for them.

They suddenly slammed on their brakes and a moment later Owen emerged. Chris felt overwhelming relief at the sight of him and didn't even care that he was charging for the paddock, clearly angry.

When Hoskins approached Owen, he didn't hesitate to punch the older man in the face. Soldiers mobilized, but all Barry and Chris could do was smile as they walked towards the pair. Hoskins was quickly spouting his ridiculous plans when they arrived.

"It is not a mission," Barry said angrily as he stepped forward, "it is a field test."

"This is an _InGen_ situation now." Hoskins said tersely. "There are going to be cruise ships coming in the morning to get the last of the people off this island and you can either watch a news story about how your animals saved their lives, or how you let them die."

"Civilians have already been taken off the island." Chris snapped.

"Yes," Hoskins' voice was low and angry. "But there are still two thousand employees left." His eyes turned to Owen again. "And these animals are going to be the reason those people get to go home to their families tomorrow."

Owen seemed to struggle with what he was being told. While he wanted the rest of the living employees to stay that way, he knew the dangers behind releasing the Raptors. Hoping for an idea of what to do, he turned to Barry.

"They've never been out of containment." Barry told him seriously. "This is crazy."

Owen's eyes slowly shifted back to Hoskins, but he was hardly paying him attention.

"Let's move it out!" he bellowed before turning once more to Owen. "This is happening with, or without you."

That made up the young man's mind for him. He wasn't going to let the Raptors out of his sight when someone like Hoskins was involved. Reluctantly, Owen nodded. Hoskins immediately smiled wide and began to bark orders at his men to give Owen everything he needed.

The large man moved on and shortly left the area. They didn't know where he was going, nor did they care. When he had left, Chris turned her attention to Owen. She looked up at him sadly, but relieved. She stepped towards him.

"Are you okay?" she asked when she noticed the bruised cut above his eyes.

"Fine," he told her with a kind smile. "Don't worry about it."

She still hadn't relaxed. Her brows were still pulled together and she was worried. He could tell.

Chris wanted to keep pressing, but there wasn't much point. Her eyes diverted briefly and she noticed two kids standing by Claire behind Owen.

"You found them." She chimed, willing to move pass the subject. "Wonderful."

"Uh… who are you?" the oldest asked.

"Chris." She smiled.

"This is Zach," Claire reluctantly introduced them. "And Gray."

"Pleasure." Chris gave them as warm a smile as she could given what was happening around them.

"Come on," Owen sighed. He gently took hold of Chris' forearm. "Let's get this over with."

She nodded and reluctantly followed after him.

~!~

Eventually, the plan had been laid and everyone was given their orders. Owen and Chris were making the last preparations before the Raptors were let loose. She was checking their vitals once more and -as she thought they would be- they were elevated. Owen was looking over the harnesses strapped to the girls' heads. He didn't like them, but apparently had no choice. He glanced briefly to Chris while she worked.

"How are they lookin'?" he asked with a sigh as he gently touched Blue.

Chris took a deep breath and let it out slowly in a long sigh. She was tenderly adjusting the camera's harness and scratching Echo's neck to hopefully relieve the strange tension the Raptor was now feeling.

"I don't like this." She told him honestly. Chris looked up at him. "This doesn't feel right. They shouldn't be used like this."

"I know." He stepped around Blue and to Chris' side. He stood next to her causing Chris to shift her stance to look up at him. "I don't like it anymore than you do, but it's not like we've got a choice here. Hoskins'll take them anyway."

She nodded slowly.

"I know."

He looked down at her and smiled warmly causing her to do the same. He was glad she was alright, safe. So much shit had happened in just one day, that he was glad it hadn't infected absolutely everything. As he bent down intending to kiss her, someone called his name.

"Owen," came a small voice.

Owen jolted, stood upright and turned to see Gray and Zach standing at the pen with their arms lazily hanging on the thick steel bars. Zach looked like he wanted to hit his younger brother. He must have noticed Owen's action, but he said nothing about it.

"What's up?" he asked as he stepped towards the pair.

"Are they safe?" Gray asked, pointing to the Raptors.

Owen didn't know if he was asking if the Raptors were safe to be around, or if they were going to be safe with what was going to happen. Either way, there was only one answer.

"No," he said, "They're not."

"What are their names?" Zach asked.

"That's Charlie, Delta." He pointed. "That over there is Echo and this is Blue. She's the Beta."

"Who's the Alpha?" Gray asked.

Owen let a cocky smirk touch his lips.

"You're looking at him, kid." He grinned.

Chris snorted a laugh in the background that caused Owen to cock a brow and turn to her, still smirking.

"Got something to add, Doc?" he asked.

"No," she said leadingly as she shook her head. "You're the Alpha, sure."

She knew he was within the Raptor group, but teasing him was still fun.

"Hey," Zach said, "How come you're in there, too?"

"I'm their vet." Chris said as she approached the cage wall. "I'm just makin' sure they're all right."

"You're a dinosaur vet?" Gray asked with a level of astonishment that made Chris laugh lightly and nod.

"Yes." She said.

"That is so awesome." He beamed.

His reaction caused Chris and Owen to both smile and share a laugh. She had to admit, she thought it was pretty awesome most of the time, too.

"Hey guys!" Claire called as she stepped forward. Gray and Zach turned to face their aunt. "Come on. I'm going to put you somewhere safe."

They nodded, waved their farewells to both Chris and Owen, and followed after Claire. Owen turned his attention to the young woman at his side.

"You stayin' here?" he asked.

"I guess so." She nodded. "Don't really want to go out there with that thing running around."

She forced a small smile as though she was joking, but she truly wasn't. She didn't want to be anywhere near the Indominus.

"Negative."

Owen and Chris shifted to see a soldier –the highest ranking one apparently- approach the cage they were in.

"Doctor Pratt has orders to come with us."

"What?" Chris and Owen snapped in unison.

"Hoskins wants her nearby in case anything happens with the assets." He said sternly. His eyes fell to Owen. "We're ready to move out."

Owen's jaw clenched and he fought the urge to yell at the man in black as he walked away.

"God _damnit_." He smashed the heel of his palm into the metal bars.

"It's fine." Chris said, drawing his eye. "I'll go. It's not a problem."

His brows came together and it was obvious he was worried. Owen stepped forward and closed the majority of the distance between them.

"Stay behind me, okay?" he more demanded it than asked a question. "Ride with Barry and make sure you stay behind me."

A light, weak smile formed as she looked at him and nodded.

"Sure."

He gave her a nod as though that solidified her safety and began to head for the vehicles. In the background, the girls were being wrangled. They didn't sound happy, though that surprised no one. Owen diverted to deal with them while Chris headed for the guys loading up their vehicles and weaponry.

By the time Owen made it back to them again, Chris was standing by Barry with a rifle in her hands. She wasn't about to leave the Raptor paddock without a weapon and while he was glad to see it, Owen had to tease her just a bit. If anything, perhaps it would help relieve some of the tension surrounding them.

"You know how to use that thing?" he asked as he straddled his bike.

Chris arched a single brow. She didn't respond and instead raked a round into the chamber of her M16 A4 with a cocky flick of the wrist. His grin grew.

"I think I'll be fine." She told him.

He had to admit, that was kind of hot. Still grinning to himself, Owen revved up his bike. The moment his eyes turned towards the darkened forests, the smile fell. He had to focus. Now came the worst part. Now, he had to pay attention.

With a nod to the poor guy who'd fallen into the enclosure earlier that day, the Raptors were released and sped off easily into the jungle. The convoy soon followed after them.

They rode for what felt like miles. Each of the girls wove effortlessly through the dense jungle. God only knew how happy they were to finally be free and run as quickly as they were capable.

Owen kept pace with them fairly well. His bike allowed him not only to keep up, but to weave as easily as they did through the trees. Barry and Chris were a bit further behind and behind them was an SUV bearing the rest of the soldiers deployed with him.

When they did finally begin to slow, the soldiers and handlers leapt from their vehicles and ducked behind trees and logs. Everyone took aim at what they could hear lumbering in the distance. It was big and the forest was groaning its protests while the monster came closer. Chris felt her nerves begin to fray and that tingle of fear creep up her spine. She was on end and prayed she wasn't the only one.

A moment later, it emerged. Chris felt her jaw drop. It was massive, bigger than anything she'd ever seen before, and it was horrifying. Its bright white skin shined in stark contrast to the jungle surrounding it. Its mouth was littered with blood and it dwarfed some of the nearby trees.

Truly, the thing of nightmares.

Instead of attacking, the Indominus began to make its sounds and the Raptors began to reply. A cold chill crawled up the backs of those who spent time with the smaller reptiles. They knew something wasn't right.

"Something's wrong." Barry muttered from his spot beside Owen. Chris could hear them despite standing behind a tree a few feet away. "They're communicating with one another."

Owen felt sick.

"I know why they didn't tell us what this thing's made of." He said.

"Why?"

"It's part Raptor."

As soon as the statement left his lips, the girls' attention snapped to Owen. He could tell they were looking solely at him and it wasn't good.

"Engage!" someone screamed before the Raptors could move.

Immediately the world around them erupted in gunfire. Chris began to fire alongside everyone else. She was only too happy to eliminate the threat of a genetically modified monster.

Round after round sailed into the jungle towards the Indominus Rex. They tore through the leaves, splintered trees and pelted the animal's side, but it didn't seem to care. The only time the beast even showed the slightest hint of being affected was when someone launched an RPM into the distance.

It burned and ignited part of the forest. The monster roared its pain and lumbered back into darkness. The Raptors suddenly spread and vanished into random directions.

"Watch your six!" Owen called loudly as he came out from his hiding spot, weapon aimed, "Raptors got a new alpha."

Only a few seemed to realize or care what those words truly meant. All it meant to the soldiers was now they could shoot anything with a tail.

They began to spread out which was perhaps one of the stupidest things in the world for them to do. Worse yet, the soldiers were trudging through the tall grass. Were they high? Chris couldn't believe it. Sure, they probably didn't know much about the hunting patterns of the prehistoric predator, but not a lot had changed in the past few million years. Predators still used tall grass and brush to hide while they hunted. As a result, Chris stayed closer to the clearings where she could see and kept her back to trees.

Suddenly, screams filled the air. As the girls darted through the shadows, they took their prey. They'd leap out of hiding, grab some poor soul by his head, torso or any pick of limbs, and drag him screaming into the trees to die a painful, terrifying death. Chris' body began to vibrate. There were too many things to focus on. Everything wanted to kill her and she may have no choice but to kill something herself.

As she walked by a tree and put her back to it to scan the area before proceeding, Chris caught sight of Owen a few yards away. She followed his line of sight and saw what had him so tense. One of the girls –she couldn't tell who in the darkness- was standing a few yards from him in the tall grass and her eyes were focused intently.

Chris felt a pit grow in her stomach as she raised her weapon. She took aim. The action seemed to catch Owen's attention. He could see her clearly from his stance and barely had to turn his head at all. Chris' eyes were on the dinosaur, but she noticed Owen lower his weapon just a bit. She glanced to him and saw him staring at her sternly. Owen shook his head, silently telling her not to shoot. Her brows came together sadly. She shook her head back, telling him it didn't matter. Chris' gaze went back to the Raptor. Regardless of Owen's desires, she would shoot to kill if it attacked.

Owen's stomach churned. He knew she would, he just prayed she wouldn't get the chance. He looked again to the Raptor eying him, wondering if he was worth eating or not. They never had the chance to find out. An RPM sailed through the air and slammed into the dinosaur, effectively disintegrating her. Owen flew back from the concussion of the explosion while Chris dropped to her knees and shielded herself.

The thunderous boom left them temporarily deaf and dazed.

Chris struggled to push herself to her feet. Her eyes hadn't adjusted to the darkness again and she was briefly blinded by the intense light of the blast.

"Owen!" she called.

She couldn't immediately see him and while she knew he wasn't the focus of the explosion, he'd still been close.

"Chris!" he yelled back.

She blinked a dozen times and slowly her vision came back. She'd been a bit closer to the blast, shielded by trees, but close enough she could hardly see.

She saw the hulking figure of Owen pushing himself to his feet and ran towards him carefully so she didn't fall. By the time she reached him, her vision was back to normal. They both grabbed one another and did a quick once over.

"You okay?" they asked in unison.

There was no damage, but they had a thin layer of soot gathering on their sweaty skin. Screaming still echoed in the distance. Their attention snapped towards it.

"Come on," Owen took her wrist and ran towards the sounds of fighting. Chris followed without hesitation.

He raced for his bike and pulled Chris behind him.

"Get on." He told her. She easily threw her leg over the bike and got on behind him.

He was ready to speed off when he noticed Blue attacking a log. He heard Barry screaming from within and knew he had to intervene. Thinking quickly, Owen began to rev the engine repeatedly and whistled to get her attention. Blue's head shot up.

"Hold on," he told Chris.

Her eyes hadn't left the Raptor. Owen felt her grip tighten around his hips.

"Yup," was her only response.

Quickly, Owen spun the bike around and sped off into the trees. Chris clung to him tightly as they raced through the jungle. She kept glancing over her shoulder to see Blue. It was stupid because the Raptor was fast… so fast. She was never far away.

"She's closing in." Chris yelled loudly enough for Owen to hear her over the wind and the sound of his engine.

Without replying, Owen shifted into a higher gear. They began to pull away from the dinosaur wanting to eat them.

After a few miles, they finally reached a road. Owen didn't hesitate to head towards the main facility.

As they rode down the dirt street, tail lights blinked in the distance. Owen immediately headed for it. The back doors were swinging open and the closer he got, the more he was able to recognize that there were two people in the back. Not only were there people in the back, but it was Gray and Zach, which meant Claire was driving.

He soon pulled up along side the lumbering vehicle and yelled for Claire to follow him. She did and let him pull ahead so she could. Claire saw Chris clinging to Owen and felt a random stab of jealousy as a result, but pushed it down in favor of getting to safety.

~!~

They made it to the belly of the park nearly a half an hour later and quickly disembarked from their respective vehicles. Claire ushered the kids into the Innovation Center which was the heart of practically everything.

"Control Room, this way." She called out as they ran deeper into the building half of them already knew well.

But they never made it to the Control Room. After seeing the lab had been evacuated, Claire diverted in her path leading the small group into the room. They saw more soldiers, mercenaries (whatever-the-hell) loading embryos into freezers for transport. Hoskins was there. Chris didn't understand how he seemed to be everywhere, but there he was nonetheless.

He told them the plan to use dinosaurs as soldiers wasn't canceled. In fact, he decided on something more horrifying, like using the Indominus Rex's genetic code as a basis for a smaller, meaner and harder to handle prospect. He was talking about breeding something with no natural predators –because it _wasn't_ natural- and wanting to try and control it. He'd lost his mind.

But as he stood there trying to rationalize his idiotic plan for better weapons, Delta suddenly leapt into the fray. No one knew where she'd come from, only that she burst through one of the glass walls and put herself right in the middle of the conversation.

Everyone immediately began to back away. Owen shielded the others behind him, Chris held her weapon tightly and Hoskins began to stammer and try to calm the Raptor down. His weak attempts seemed to actually draw her attention more than dissuade it.

Soon, she began to stalk towards him, moving easily on her feet and swaying fluidly as she walked closer. She moved as though she were swimming, gently rocking as she took one dangerous step after another.

"How many rounds you got?" Owen asked under his breath while Hoskins –to their horror- began to reach out and try to touch the Raptor.

"Fifteen rounds current," she replied in the same subtle tone, "full twenty round mag in my back pocket."

He nodded slowly.

"She lunges at us, make 'em count."

"Yup," Chris mumbled. She slowly began to step back and away from the group just so she could raise her weapon slightly.

Claire was behind Owen's right shoulder. Beside her was Zach, then Gray, and then Chris behind Owen's left. She had to move away from them in case firing was needed.

Without warning, Delta lunged for Hoskins. He screamed horribly as the Raptor swallowed half his arm before twisting her head and ripping it off. The small group seized their chance and ran for it before Delta could see they were leaving. They barely made it ten feet past the door before she leapt through another glass wall once Hoskins' screams had gone quiet.

"Go, go, go!" Chris yelled as their race took them back through the main hall.

Gray –such a smart boy- tapped an icon on a touch-screen panel before they pushed through the open doors. The machine spit out a hologram a second later and forced Delta to pause. They may be intelligent, but they were still animals and she thought she was being confronted by a rival predator. It bought them seconds, but seconds they needed.

They ran down the front steps –thinking briefly they were safe- until they reached the bottom. No sooner than their feet touched the ground, Blue leapt out of hiding. She landed in their path and shrieked that terrifying sound her kind was known for. A moment later, Delta charged out of the building behind them, dividing their attention. Owen held the front, Chris moved to the back. As though the situation couldn't get worse, Echo emerged from the side. The humans were completely surrounded.

The air grew thick with the knowledge that they could all die at any second. They were living on nothing more than borrowed time. If any of the animals chose to attack, the other two would join in and they'd be dead within seconds.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Chris' eyes darted from Echo to Delta. Owen's attention was only on Blue because she was front and center. Echo hissed, clicked and lunged shortly as though to frighten the humans. Chris knew it wouldn't help, but she felt the need to try and do something.

"Hey, hey, hey," she cooed softly. She tried to keep her voice from trembling, but it was difficult. "It's okay, now. You remember me, right? I'm not so bad."

She didn't know why she was pleading with the Raptor, but had to admit it made her feel a little better. For some reason, it made her feel like maybe it made a difference. The kids were honestly a little glad for it, too. It was that little sliver of _maybe this'll help_ that kept them from completely panicking.

"So that's how it is, huh?" Owen asked Blue.

The animals continued to linger just out of arm's reach and make the noises Chris knew she'd hear in her nightmares for the rest of her life.

Owen's eyes remained fixed to Blue. He hoped there was a ray of respect left between him and his animals. Willing to test it, Owen gently set his weapon down and let it clank against the ground.

As slowly as possible, he approached the animal. Blue made her familiar clicking noise deep in her throat and huffed. She flinched when he got close which caused Owen to pause. Chris prayed internally she wouldn't lunge.

Owen's fingers came forward and tenderly unsnapped the harness she still wore. It fell uselessly to the ground and Owen began his short retreat back to the group.

They felt the footsteps a moment before they heard the roar of the animal. Sure enough, the Indominus came trudging around a building and into view. She was huge. While it was always clear the animal was big, now seeing her beside buildings for scale made it clear just how big she truly was.

Blue looked from the Indominus to Owen and back again a few times before focusing on him. A small smile began to tug at Owen's lips. He knew what was happening. Alliances were shifting again, and they were shifting in his favor. When she did the Raptor equivalent of purring, he knew she was his again.

Blue suddenly turned on the Indominus and roared loudly. She reared back to leap at the animal, but wasn't given the chance to connect. Knowing it had lost its servants, the Indominus swung its massive tail. Blue sailed through the air and smashed into a support column so hard some of the concrete and plaster crumbled to the ground. She didn't move.

Delta and Echo turned the instant the Indominus lashed out at Blue. It took nothing more than a whistle from Owen to send them flying after the white beast.

The instant it was distracted, the group ran again to get away from the fight. Claire, Zach and Gray dove into a merchandise kiosk. Owen took refuge behind an amber statue and began to fire. Chris ducked behind the corner of the open Japanese food restaurant. She took aim and began to fire at the animal, too. It was difficult not to hit Echo or Delta since they were crawling all over the Indominus like fleas, but somehow she managed. While Owen fired at any body part he could, Chris aimed only for the eyes. She wanted to blind the damn thing. At least then they'd have a better chance to hide.

As she shot bursts of bullets at the Indominus, something caught Chris attention. A streak of white had leapt out of the souvenir stand and was running towards her. To her horror, it was Claire.

"The hell are you doin'?!" she yelled as the woman ran.

"Getting back up!" Claire called back.

Chris expelled her empty magazine and reached for the spare.

"What?!"

Claire was hidden from the Indominus within the alleyway by Chris when she paused just long enough to turn.

"Just keep that thing busy!" she yelled before racing off once more towards somewhere.

"Crazy bloody woman," Chris mumbled as she slammed her spare mag into her gun.

No sooner than she raked a round into the chamber did Delta suddenly come flying towards her. Chris ducked down behind the edge of the building just as Delta fell into the fryer. She erupted into flames, screamed and kicked before going still just as suddenly. Chris did her best to fight back the nauseas smell of cooked Raptor and again aimed out from behind the corner.

Owen was looking at her and seemed relieved she was unharmed, but he should have been looking up.

"Duck!" she screamed.

Owen barely turned around in time to see Indominus' tail swing towards him. He immediately dove out of the way and was showered in broken mock-amber an instant later. He didn't hesitate and ran for the souvenir stand. Just as he dove into the nook, the Indominus rid itself of the last pest. It snapped its massive jaws around Echo and tossed her dead body lazily into another building.

Chris stopped firing and waited. Everything had gone eerily silent. The only thing they heard was the deep rumbling coming from the animal hunting them all.

She could see Owen's back for only a moment before the Indominus slinked closer. She began to raise her weapon and took aim. If it saw them, she'd fire. Everything stopped for a moment… but only a moment.

The enormous beast suddenly swung its head and smashed it into the small kiosk before bringing its massive talons down on the roof and slicing through it easily. Chris heard screaming and immediately began to fire.

The bullets tore into the animal's thick skin and caused it to shake its head. It was clear that for a moment it didn't know what was happening. That quickly changed, but not before Chris managed to actually shoot it in the eye.

The Indominus screeched and bellowed, roared its pain and likely fear at the sudden blindness. It shook its head and struggled to reach its eye with its claws as though it thought something had gotten into it.

Owen shot a look to Chris who was just within his line of sight beneath the monster.

"Run!" she screamed.

Without needing to be told again, Owen grabbed Zach and Gray and pushed them out of the small, breakable and broken little building.

She breathed a sigh of relief before noticing the monster was coming for her. It had heard her scream and didn't hesitate to charge. Chris didn't bother trying to shoot again and just fled. Owen watched in horror as she ran from the goliath.

Chris knew she couldn't outrun the monster and didn't bother trying. Instead, she aimed her weapon and fired the remaining three rounds into the thick glass window of a storefront. Tossing the useless weapon down, she dove through the open window and ran as far back as she could possibly go. While she didn't think the building would stop the Indominus completely, she knew it would struggle and that was all she needed.

Owen, Gray and Zach had stopped running only a few yards from the merchandise stand when they saw the Indominus slam into the building. The front of the store crumbled and broke under the intense strength of the animal as she clawed to get at her pray. Chris had pushed herself up against the back wall, pass the clothes and into the nook designated for the cashiers.

The building was beginning to fall apart as the Indominus struggled to get a hold of her. It wouldn't hold out long and the dinosaur was already twenty feet away from Chris. Each time in lunged forward with its gnarly claws, it was just a hint closer. It barely had much further to go if it wanted to.

"Go, over there." Owen told the boys. "Right behind that corner."

He pointed for them to hide behind the edge of a nearby building where they would be marginally safe. They quickly raced off and did as he said. Owen darted towards the amber display. He grabbed a chunk of the broken statue and lobbed it at the dinosaur. It hit her hind leg.

"Hey!" he yelled. Owen picked up a second piece and threw it, too. This one hit the animal in the back. "HEY!"

He threw another chunk which smashed into the Indominus' shoulder. That seemed to get her attention. The massive monster stepped back and out from beneath the overhang of the building. It swung its giant head towards him and looked at Owen with its one good idea, the other bloody and empty. Owen felt a sudden realization that his plan had been a stupid one.

"Oh shit…" he mumbled to himself.

The Indominus roared loudly and barely took a single step before a red flare suddenly flew towards it. Owen's gaze shot to the source. Claire. She kept running and dove behind some rubble the instant before the T-Rex appeared. Owen jumped when it smashed its body into the Indominus' side. He took the chance and ran back for the boys, pulling them out of the way of the coming carnage.

The two Titans began to fight. They tore at one another's flesh, roared, screamed and fought viciously as they stumbled through the once pristine parkway.

As the T-Rex pushed the Indominus through a statue, it gave Chris the chance to move. She ran for the store front to better see what was happening and noticed Claire not too far away, crawling to get away from the monsters. With a quick glance to the two fighting in the street, Chris made sure she had the chance to leave the store.

She leapt out of the rubble and ran for Claire quickly. Without hesitation, she hooked her arms beneath the redhead's and hoisted Claire to her feet. They both kept their eyes on the fight.

Owen and the boys stole glances to Chris and Claire every once and awhile just to make sure they were still safe and out of danger, but the majority of their attention remained fixed to the two giants.

Suddenly, the T-Rex was down. The ground shook when it was thrown to the street. The Indominus stood on its throat and reared back to rip into it. The monster only stopped when they heard the honking, trumpet-like call of a Raptor. Sure enough, Blue emerged, charging down the street with intense focus.

Blue leapt onto the Indominus and immediately began to bite into its neck giving the T-Rex enough time to recover and stand. Together, the pair began to take on Goliath.

When it was clear, Owen, Zach and Gray raced across the street to Claire and Chris. They ducked behind what was left of another statue as though it would save them, but it didn't. It didn't take long for the giant, lumbering and clumsy creatures to topple towards them. They shot up and dove into another store with windows already broken out so they didn't have to mess with doors.

Blue was suddenly thrown through the front windows. She fumbled and spun herself around just to get her feet under herself again before leaping back into the fight without hesitation.

After the brief pause to let Blue go by, the group ran again. They had to keep moving, but the dinosaurs seemed to always be there first. It wasn't a hard trick to master. Ten of their footsteps equaled one half-step of those behemoths. They just never seemed able to get far enough away before the dinosaurs would fall back into their path.

Eventually, they reached the corner of the store which was the corner of the street as well. It gave them plenty to see, and they felt marginally safe beneath the structure. They shouldn't have.

The T-Rex shoved its shoulder into the Indominus and sent it reeling into the building across the street. As the I-Rex stumbled, the T-Rex grabbed it by its throat and swung violently. It looked like the dinosaur version of flipping someone over your body, and it worked. The massive white beast flew through the air before slamming into the ground with a tremendous thud and its tail followed suit.

The tail –thicker than the redwoods in California- sliced easily through the building the tiny humans were hiding in. It came crashing through the ceiling sending chunks of concrete, insulation, duct work and all other manner of things tumbling down. Gray was the closest to the front and right beneath the majority of the damage. Chris barely saw it in time and grabbed him. She took hold of his shirt and yanked him back violently. He cried out from the sudden force, but didn't have a chance to react as she wrapped her body around him and pushed him down.

She was ready to take the brunt of the destruction onto herself, but thankfully Owen had quick reflexes, too. He grabbed her and in turn pulled both of them back, it just wasn't quite fast enough.

Gray stumbled into Claire as she pulled him towards her after Owen and Chris' intervention, but since Chris had been shielding the young boy, she was still hunched over and took a fair amount of damage. Chunks of plaster and ceiling smashed into her back and glass sailed into the room. She cried out loudly when something hit the back of her shoulder. It burned, it hurt, and she didn't know what it was.

Owen wrapped his arms around her as he yanked her deeper into the store and away from the crumbling structure. He cradled the back of her neck and hugged her to his chest, down and out of the way while he kept his eyes on the fight a few yards away.

No one moved as they cowered in the store. Chris didn't even bother standing; she just remained curled against Owen's chest. Something was wrong. Something had gotten her and she knew it.

Blue tore at the Indominus' good eye while the T-Rex gnawed and chewed on its throat. The giant white beast thrashed and sent Blue flying. When the Raptor was gone, the T-Rex charged their enemy. The I-Rex collapsed to the ground with another thunderous boom as it stumbled into the fence guarding the Mosasaur.

It gradually got to its feet while Blue and the T-Rex squared themselves on it. It was clear the animal was frustrated –or some variation of it- and seemed to know it was losing the fight. The group watched quietly, filled with fear and hope when the water suddenly exploded into the air. The Mosasaur launched itself up and onto the platform, wrapping its massive maw around the once titanic dinosaur and yanked it down into the depths of the lagoon.

The Indominus had fought briefly, but it was so severely out matched that the battle lasted seconds at best before it disappeared beneath the water. Within seconds the world went oddly silent again.

The T-Rex looked to Blue who did the same and a tense moment passed between them. And yet, instead of continuing the fight, the aged warrior turned and lumbered off into the distance without a second glance at anyone.

Blue chirped and clicked like she tended to and turned towards the others. Owen gently released Chris and stepped around her. He kept his eyes glued to Blue as he positioned himself between the Raptor and the humans. Gently, he shook his head as though knowing she was thinking of attacking.

With a little purr she tended to do when calm, Blue turned and galloped into the park. Owen breathed easier immediately. He reached up, ready to run his fingers through his hair in relief when he noticed it. His hand was covered in blood.

Owen's brows came together. It wasn't his, he knew that, so where did it…

Cold touched his gut and Owen quickly spun on his heel. He and Chris had been just behind Gray, Zach and Claire which meant the trio couldn't see her, but he could, now. Chris was still leaning forward against an overturned display breathing heavily and trying to will the pain away. Owen could see a chunk of glass sticking out of her back, wedged deeply into her shoulder blade and her shirt was now stained with a growing circle of blood.

"Shit," he ran for her quickly. Owen leaned down to look at her. The action drew Chris' eye. "Hey," he said softly as though reassuring her of something. Chris wasn't fooled.

"How bad is it?" she asked with labored breath.

Claire and the boys had turned when Owen ran for Chris and quickly saw what happened.

"It's fine." He openly lied.

"Oh my god," Claire gasped just loud enough to be heard.

Chris glanced to the redhead –saw the look of horror- and turned a sterner eye to Owen.

"Liar." She told him. "How bad is it, really?"

Owen hesitated to tell her the truth. He looked at the shard that was probably four or five inches long and embedded deeply enough it was stuck fairly well in place. He winced slightly before meeting her gaze.

"You have a giant chunk of glass in your back." He decided to be blunt.

Chris' brows rose. That hadn't been what she thought. Honestly, she assumed she'd been smashed by a chunk of concrete and that was the ache she felt. Evidently not.

"Wonderful," she slowly pushed herself upright, "now I need some bloody stitches. Pull it out."

"Yeah, no. Bad idea." Owen told her simply. "You don't know what that thing cut."

"Its fine," she sighed. Chris reached around her back and felt the bit of glass. She wrapped her digits around it as best she could and yanked it out before Owen could stop her. "Major arteries are 'round front. Not the back." She looked over the piece and noticed only about an inch of the base was coated in blood. "That's not so bad."

And it wasn't. The depth wasn't enough to cause long term damage, just the length. The entire length of the piece of glass had sunk into her skin which not only kept it in place, but ensured she'd have a nice grouping of stitches, too.

"You're freakishly calm about this." Zach felt the need to say.

Chris laughed before she could stop herself. It made the others wonder if she hadn't been hit in the head too.

"I didn't get eaten." She told him simply. "Everythin' else is background noise."

She made a disturbingly logical point. After spending the day being hunted and dodging ravenous dinosaurs, everything else seemed trivial. They survived something far worse. What were a few cuts or bruises?

"Okay, come on," Owen looped her good arm around his shoulder and helped her walk. It was awkward given the height difference and she thought unnecessary, but in truth she was a bit dizzy. Maybe something had hit her in the head? "Are all Aussies as crazy as you, or are you just special?" he teased as they all hobbled collectively towards the amphitheater where everyone else had taken refuge.

"We come from a country where literally _everythin'_ is tryin' to kill you." She said before looking up at him with a hint of sarcasm touching her features. "Of course we're crazy."

Smiling to himself and shaking his head at her, Owen said nothing more as they made their way to safety.

 **You guys are awesome. :) I'm working on another chapter after this, what would you guys like to see?**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

The amphitheater was full of employees and a few random civilians who'd managed to remain behind. Chris assumed they might have been family that came to visit someone who worked at the park, but decided not to leave when the evacuation happened. Or, they could have been civilians who hadn't made it to the center of the park while it was still happening until an employee found them lingering behind. They were probably regretting that choice now.

Owen took Chris towards the triage center in the back where the islands 'people' doctors were tending to the employees who'd been hurt. There weren't many, but enough to keep _InGen's_ lawyers busy for months after this.

He set her down and let the doctors get to work before wandering around to do what he could. He planned to remain at her side for at least a little while, but the doctors shooed him away. He was hovering, poking at her to see what was happening when they finally had enough because he was getting in the way. Chris smiled and told him to go check on the boys or something, find Barry -anything to keep him busy. Reluctantly, he did as she suggested and the doctors emphatically told him to.

She looked around and saw all of the people who'd been hurt. Truthfully, she was glad the majority of them weren't civilians, but still… most jobs didn't have this on the accident list. As it was, perhaps fifty or so people were injured. It was a fraction of the work force, but still, fifty or so people. That was a fair amount.

Chris saw people with bandages wrapped around body parts showing speckles of blood from unseen cuts. Others were wrapped because of injured limbs –broken or sprained- and the last grouping looked like they were going through shock. She was a little surprised there weren't more of those around.

The sun began to rise in the distance and with it came a ship bearing more family scared about what happened to their loved ones. She barely noticed. She was too busy leaning forward against a pillow while they finished working on her back. They stuck her so many times with needles that Chris was glad they'd given her something for it.

"Alright," someone chimed from behind. She barely looked over her shoulder and felt mild pressure as the nurse pressed gauze to her back. "You're all set. Now, you're going to be out of it for a little while, so you'll need to rest."

"Uh-huh." She mumbled. Chris was already a little out of it. Her adrenaline was finally starting to wane so with it came exhaustion.

Owen had made his rounds and did what he could to either help, or find people and was finally making his way back to Chris. He saw her slumped over a pillow with her face squished lazily against it. It made him smirk as he approached.

Chris always wore a thinly strapped shirt beneath her normal work-shirt so she could remove her work-shirt if need be and still be covered. As a result, she was sitting in her white wife-beater now stained with blood and a brand new, giant pad of gauze on her back.

When he reached her, Owen squatted down in front of Chris so she could see him. When she did, she smiled lazily and sat up just enough her face was only slightly buried in the pillow.

"Hey," he greeted. "How you feelin'?"

"Fantastic," she mumbled with a heavy smirk.

He narrowed his eyes and began to grin.

"Are you high?" he asked with a light laugh.

"I hope so," she told him as she sat a little straighter. "If not, I may have hit my head harder than I thought."

He chuckled again. She was incredibly high and it was coming across as slightly drunk, which was borderline adorable since he hadn't seen it before.

As Chris looked over him, she saw the gash on his forehead. In the hours that had gone by, the bruise was more prominent. Reaching forward, Chris gently ran her fingertips along the wound. Owen winced, but only barely. It didn't hurt anymore, but it was a little sensitive.

"How's the head?" she asked.

"I'm fine."

Chris nodded in the same drunken way she'd been moving thus far as her hand fell to his shoulder. Before either of them could speak again, Chris tightened her grip and pulled him towards her. She smashed her lips against his and kissed him. Owen smiled and returned the affection without hesitation. He threaded his fingers through her messed hair and held her close while they kissed one another. There was relief in the action, like it somehow solidified the fact that this ordeal was over.

Eventually, they managed to pull back and the druggy expression now saturated them both.

"Wanna get out of here?" Chris asked.

Owen smirked again and his gaze turned downright wicked.

"Your place or mine?" he asked teasingly. "Come on," he helped her to her feet for which she was grateful. "Let's get you home… while we still have homes."

Chris felt herself nodding. There was no telling how long any of them had jobs, let alone homes on the island. The last twenty-four hours could lead to one of two things. One –and the most likely- the company would be shut down because of the mass of deaths and risks towards the public. Option two, the park would shut down, but Jurassic World as a whole would remain, which meant their jobs would be there regardless.

Honestly, option two was the least likely to happen and they all knew it. The kind of 'accident' that happened wasn't one solved easily. Worse yet, a few hundred civilians were on the island when the aviary was breached. True, as far as the public is concerned, that would be the extent of the damages done to the park, but those who worked there knew better. They knew just how lucky those four hundred visitors had been.

No one even had an official head-count yet of how many employees had died. Truth be told, some of them hadn't been found and of those who had, some were just body parts. Chris herself had seen roughly ten people die, but knew the number was higher. It had to be. Between the Raptors, the I-Rex and the flying bastards, the list of actual dead was hard to come by. Some would never be found, like those who'd been swallowed whole. Claire's assistant was one of those who'd never be recovered.

Deaths of employees, deaths of numerous assets and millions of dollars of property damage –and whatever stories the visitors told once they made it back to the mainland- ensured the park would close, but not likely for long. The world wanted dinosaurs. It didn't seem to matter how much they destroyed, people wanted to see them, touch them and watch them be the monsters they were millions of years ago. If the first park, the 'disappearances' from the nursery islands and San Diego didn't stop Jurassic World from being made, then it was unlikely this incident would stop another park from popping up, or stop Jurassic World from getting a facelift. The only question was how long it would take this time for it to reopen.

After Chris was outfitted with a sling to keep her left arm from moving –both to keep the stitches safe and give her shoulder muscles time to heal- she and Owen began to make their way out of the amphitheater.

As they walked slowly –sorely and painfully- down the large walkway in the middle of the building, Chris spotted the boys and their family. She wanted to see how they were doing and headed for them with Owen at her side.

"Doctor Pratt," Claire was the first to notice the pair and stood quickly. She seemed slightly surprised and her declaration caused the four others with her to turn. Chris smiled warmly. "How uh…" Claire noticed the brace, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She replied before her eyes shifted to the boys. "And you two, are you okay?"

Zach nodded and Gray did the same, but neither really spoke. Chris wasn't surprised. They were probably just now being given the chance to realize what had really happened. While in the moment, you react. You don't have time to think, rationalize or even realize what's really happening. That came later when things calmed. They were probably still trying to process.

"Good."

"Thank you," Claire said. "Both of you." She drew Owen and Chris' gaze. "You guys saved my nephews."

Chris only smiled kindly while Owen shrugged playfully. They took the compliments, but the truth was, the boys did a lot of it on their own. They were the ones who made it through the valley and lived. They were smart kids.

"Oh, and this is my sister Karen." Claire pointed to a blond woman, "And her husband Scott."

"Thank you," Karen said with tears still in her eyes.

"It was no-" Owen barely got the words out before Karen wrapped her arms around him. "Okay," he mumbled when she hugged him.

"Thank you." Karen said again before releasing him and quickly hugging Chris.

It was obvious she was just relieved and doled out the affection as a result. The hug hurt Chris, but she let the mother get it out of her system anyway.

When they parted, Karen went back to her sons.

"It was a pleasure meeting you." Chris felt the need to say. She glanced to Claire. "I'm goin' home, and goin' to bed. They know what's happenin' yet?"

Claire shook her head.

"No. They'll probably spend the next few months interviewing employees to figure out what happened. I'm sure they'll want to talk to you guys."

"Well, you know where we'll be." Owen told her.

Claire nodded apprehensively. The uncertainty of what was going to happen bothered her more than it did Owen and Chris. Truth was, they were just tired.

Saying their farewells, the pair left the amphitheater together. Owen wanted to take his bike back, but knew Chris wouldn't be able to hold on. She was drugged, had one good arm and tired. The chances of her falling off were high, so he didn't bother. Instead, he 'borrowed' one of the SUVs outside and headed for their trailers.

Neither was worried about Blue or the T-Rex. The remaining bits of Asset Containment had followed their trackers, sedated and moved them to a safer location. Blue went back the Raptor paddock and the T-Rex likely went to its hospital enclosure, where they took it when it needed care since no one was going to walk through the middle of the park hauling that giantess with them.

The ride back to the bungalows was a long one, made more so by the fact that they were exhausted. Owen was finally beginning to feel the past twenty-four hours take their toll. His adrenaline was gone as well and now he was beginning to feel the weight of everything that happened.

He eventually found the little off-shoot that created Chris' parking lot and pulled in. He shifted the SUV into park and looked to the young woman at his side. Chris had jolted awake. She took in a deep breath, glanced around and realized she was home.

"You good?" he asked as he looked over her drooping lids.

"M-hm." Chris nodded. She undid her seat belt and opened her door before realizing the car was still running. She glanced over her shoulder at Owen. "You comin'?"

His brows slowly rose.

"Well, I may be concussed." She explained weakly with a light smile touching her lips. "You can't leave me alone if I have head trauma."

He chuckled lightly and fought the urge to comment that she always seemed to have head trauma. Instead, he nodded and turned off the car. Honestly, he didn't feel like driving anymore, anyway.

"Okay." He nodded.

Owen followed behind as Chris walked heavily up the stepping stones to her house and unlocked the door. The pair made their way into her trailer and felt themselves slow even more than before. He closed the door behind them and noticed Chris was already in the process of disrobing.

She tossed her useless work-shirt onto the table and began to remove her belt along with the knife it held. Owen didn't move at first. Truth was, he wasn't entirely certain what to do. He was in someone else's home and it caused him to pause. Chris continued to move, however.

When her belt was gone, she sat in her breakfast nook and began to untie her boots. It wasn't until she had one off and was working on the second that she noticed Owen still standing near the door looking over her interior.

"Are you sleeping in all that?" she asked him. Her words drew his eye and he felt himself glance down at his wardrobe. "Really?"

Owen hesitated, but realized she was right. He was wearing too much to sleep comfortably -despite being thoroughly exhausted- so he began to remove clothing, too.

Eventually, his vest, belt –with knife- was off and he was unbuttoning his shirt. He would have left his shirt on, but she'd already seen him without it, he had nothing to be ashamed of, and it still smelled like gasoline. When he shrugged it off his shoulders, Chris had turned around and noticed. She hesitated and stared like she had the first time which only made him smirk again to himself.

He let her ogle him for a moment before clearing his throat.

"Hey," he said. Chris jolted out of her staring contest with his chest and met his gaze. He smirked. "My eyes are up here."

She glowered lightly, but the action held little power considering her exhaustion.

"Here." She offered him what she had in her hand. It was a pair of pajama pants.

"I can sleep in my jeans." He told her honestly.

"Really?" she seemed surprised. "They're tighter than mine, mate."

It was his turn to glare, but like hers it was weak.

"All right then," she shrugged her good shoulder and tossed the pants onto her kitchen table. "Jus' thought you'd like 'em."

He had to admit, they looked comfortable. While he doubted they'd fit completely, the cotton had to be more comfortable than his itchy, dirty, sweaty and yes, tight, denim jeans.

Owen took a seat on the small built-in couch to the right of the door where they'd made out the night she was called in to work. It gave him a direct line of sight down the trailer and he was a little surprised by what he saw. Chris was on her way down the 'hall' to her bedroom at the other end. She had slipped her arm out of the sling and –evidently- unbuttoned her jeans because the next thing he saw was her pushing them down.

His actions stopped and his brows rose as he happily spied. Chris either didn't notice or didn't care –both were possible- as she lazily and clumsily stepped out of her jeans. She was in nothing more than the wife-beater and her panties. Granted they were of the boy-short variety, solid cotton and not lacey, which covered a fair amount, but still gave him a peak.

He continued to stare as she tumbled into her bed and began to shift beneath the blankets. Like when he'd arrived initially, Owen felt himself pausing. He was rethinking the pajama pants.

Chris was slipping into sleep when she heard his heavy footfalls approach. She looked up and was a little surprised by what she saw. He wasn't wearing his jeans, or the pants she'd offered. Instead, Owen was wearing his boxers. They weren't of the baggy variety either, instead the boxer-brief style and she liked them. He knew what he was doing and she wasn't sure she could hate him for it.

"You sure you want me to stay here?" he asked with his general grin.

Chris felt herself do the same as she cradled the pillow to her chest.

"Think you can keep your hands to yourself?" she teased.

Owen nodded his head _yes_ , but replied "Nope," at the same time.

Chris laughed lightly and shook her head. Instead of speaking, she pulled back the corner of the blanket and silently invited him into the bed.

Both probably should have thought the offer was strange and a bit forward considering they had only two dates, but why would it be? Honestly? They'd fooled around a fair amount and both were so tired it didn't really register. Besides, Chris had a King bed in her trailer, so there was plenty of room.

Owen crawled into bed before he could think better of it or Chris could rescind the invitation and send him to the couch. She wouldn't, anyway. Her couch was far too short to handle someone of Owen's stature.

"Oh shit," he groaned happily as he sank into the plush surface.

Chris snorted a weak laugh, but had strength for little else. She was already sinking deeply into her own exhaustion.

Almost immediately, they passed out. Fooling around would have been nice, but they just couldn't. Not after everything what happened. They were just too tired to try.

For now.

~!~

Word spread through Jurassic World quickly. News of Masrani's death made it to nearly everyone, which was only aided by the fact that the entire populace of the island was in a single building. Hearing that the head of the company was dead left most of the employees uncertain of how to proceed when it came to work. They knew they should continue with their jobs, but the fact of the matter was they weren't completely certain they'd be paid for their time. And, most were too scared to try.

Every department had been affected from those who worked directly with the animals, to the scientists and techs, all the way to the people who ran the merchandise kiosks and food stands. EVERYONE had been involved one way or another which left those on top in a difficult position.

When the ship meant to carry away the employees was set to do so, a fair amount happily abandoned Isla Nublar. All of those who worked with the populace left (restaurants, souvenir stands and shops) because half of those businesses were destroyed during the Clash of the Titans. Random park employees like those who dealt with tours, the petting zoo and janitorial staff left too. It wasn't until you went higher in ranks that the choice to leave was a little muddled. Handlers and vets –for example- corporate heads, the remaining Asset Containment teams and some of the technicians weren't certain what they were supposed to do, so without being told, most of them left too. They rationalized that if needed, they'd be called.

Some did remain, however. A small percentage still called the island home and had nowhere to go if they left, so they reluctantly stayed behind, some out of loyalty, others out of obligation.

A lot had transpired while Chris and Owen slept. Word was beginning to spread on the main land too, about what happened on the island, and _InGen_ was finally being told about the damages. No one knew what to do, but some still had obligations to the company and planned to stay until the higher-ups deployed whatever protocols they had in place.

Blissfully ignorant to the world around them, Chris and Owen slept. Owen was on his back while Chris had no choice but to sleep on her side and face him in the process. At some point she had formed to his side and his arm fell around her back.

Somewhere in the distance, one of the few remaining Brachiosaur families called out and their distinct sound traveled easily through the air. No one in the small Airstream trailer noticed.

 **Hey guys! I'm thinking one, maybe two more chapters is all I'll put up for this story. I haven't decided yet, but I hope you enjoyed this and let me know what you think!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note at the End**

 **Chapter 12**

A small, tinkling beep roused Chris. She was amazed she heard the sound in the first place, but once it broke through her sleeping-haze, it was hard to ignore. With her brows pulled tightly together, Chris slowly opened her eyes.

The first thing that met her gaze was Owen sleeping just beside her. He was on his stomach and beneath his pillow which made her smile to herself. Evidently, he was a burrower.

Now awake, Chris heard the chirping even more than before and was able to recognize it. It was the sound of her computer. Sorer than she'd ever been in her life, Chris did her best to get out of bed without waking the man beside her. Without the use of her left arm and with a body that felt like it had been thrown from a plane without a parachute, it was difficult.

As silently as she could, Chris 'jogged' towards her laptop on a far-off surface. The silver object wasn't entirely closed which meant alerts were still able to be heard and she knew she had to stop it before Owen woke, too.

Chris grabbed her laptop and slid into her seating area with her back to her bedroom before opening the screen. It was the video-chat ring and someone was trying to get through. Surprised by the sudden call, Chris didn't bother glancing to the screen name before answering it.

An older woman in her early fifties exploded onto the screen when the window was opened. She looked panicked and borderline terrified before seeing Chris, at which point her emotions quickly shifted to anger.

"Mum?" Chris' tired brain seemed to be more shocked than she rightfully should have been that her mother was calling her.

" _Where_ _have_ _you been?!"_ she demanded in a voice that went particularly shrill when she emphasized 'have'. Chris had a flashback of Mrs. Weasley from the Harry Potter movies. It was the same thing. " _I've been ringing for hours!"_

"Mum," Chris said calmly and marginally hushed.

" _You haven't called me,"_ she continued as though she hadn't heard Chris.

"Mum,"

" _The news has been goin' on and on-"_

"Mum,"

" _I'm sittin' here, half-way 'round the world, losing my bloody mind-"_

" _Mum_ ," Chris hissed. Her mother snapped her mouth shut, but continue to glower into the camera. "Look," Chris' voice was low and near a whisper. "I am sorry I haven't phoned, all right? But-" she suddenly paused. Chris' eyes narrowed and she tilted her head curiously to the side. "What was that bit about the news?"

The woman on the computer sighed heavily and borderline obnoxiously to show her disapproval with her daughter's ignorance.

" _Everyone's coverin' it."_ She went on to say. " _They say the park's been breached, that those beasts have escaped and there are thousands of people dead."_

Chris rolled her eyes at the news' exaggeration.

"That's not true," she sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair and turned her attention back to the screen. It was then she noticed the time. It was passed eight am, the day following the breach. Taking into account the time zones, Chris was a bit shocked, "Mum, it's passed one in the morning in Melbourne. The hell are you still awake?"

Her mother glowered again with the power only a mom can muster. It made Chris waver slightly. It didn't matter how old she was, she was still frightened of the woman on the screen. She couldn't help it.

"Sorry," Chris mumbled in response.

" _I've been worried sick, tryin' to get a hold of you for hours."_ Her voice was starting to rise again which made Chris panic and do her best to shush the woman who could kill her with a stare. _"Why are you shushing me?"_ she snapped.

"Because someone's sleeping," Chris replied, "and your voice travels."

Her mother perked just a bit, but still seemed annoyed.

" _Here I am, worryin' myself into an early grave, and you've a boyfriend over? Honestly, Christiana."_

"He's not my bloody boyfriend." She hissed through her teeth. "And I'd have called you when I woke." Chris relaxed and sighed heavily before propping and elbow on the tabletop and resting her head in her palm. "Sorry to worry you, mum, really, but it's been a bit hectic."

The woman on the screen sighed again, but the agitation was gone. Instead, it was replaced with some form of slightly panicked relief. She was still concerned about her daughter, but felt better speaking to her.

" _What happened?"_

Chris groaned and this time buried her face in both hands before taking a deep breath and looking to her mother once more.

"One of the assets got loose." Chris admitted, "Caused havoc. It's not as bad as the news is making it seem." She openly lied.

" _So, everyone's all right then?"_

Chris winced slightly and shook her head.

"No, no they're not."

" _What's going to happen?"_

"Haven't the foggiest. It'll take awhile to figure out the damages I'd imagine, then they'll likely tell us what's goin' on, but until then," Chris took a deep breath and shrugged. The action caused her to wince and bite back some pain. Her mother noticed.

" _You alright?"_

"Fine," she said as she cradled her shoulder, "just a few stitches, nothin' to be worried 'bout."

Her mother didn't seem to believe her, but knew there was nothing she could do about it from the other side of the world and simply pursed her lips disappointedly.

" _All right, well-"_ her words suddenly cut short and her face dropped. Chris eyed her mother curiously, even more so when the older woman began to smirk seductively. " _Well, hello."_

Chris opened her mouth to speak, but was silenced quickly.

"Hey," Owen chuckled from behind.

Chris' face dropped and when she looked at the screen, she could see him. In the small box in the corner where Chris could see herself, she saw Owen standing behind her with his bare chest completely on display and still wearing his boxers.

"Oh god," Chris mumbled as she buried her face in her hands again.

" _And who are you then?"_

Chris was mortified that her mother was openly flirting with Owen, while he couldn't fight the grin.

"Owen Grady." He replied as he stepped a bit closer. "You must be Mrs. Pratt?"

" _Angela, please,"_ she continued to swoon, " _And it's Miss. Her father's gone."_

Chris' eyes went wide.

" _Aren't you just a…_ _strapping_ _young man."_

"Oh my god!" Chris snapped in shock. Owen was laughing heartily at Angela's brazen attitude, while her daughter was stunned. "I'll call you later mum, love you." She said briskly before slamming the laptop shut.

"So," Owen said with a light laugh as he stepped around her and slid into the dinning area across from her. He was still smiling. "Your mom seems nice."

Chris openly glared at him which only made him laugh again. While she wanted to be mad that he was playing along with her mother, honestly she just didn't care. Chris was still a bit tired, and she knew her mom well enough to know she'd flirt with any attractive young man, and Owen was an attractive young man.

"What time is it?" he asked with a groan as he stretched.

"Nearly eight-thirty," she told him. Owen nodded slightly as he looked around, "Tuesday morning."

That seemed to get his attention and he couldn't hide his surprise when he looked at her again.

"Seriously?"

Chris nodded slowly.

"We've been asleep for nearly twenty-four hours."

"Holy shit," he mumbled.

"Yeah," she sighed.

"The hell are we supposed to do now?"

"No clue." She told him honestly. "Claire'll call us when somethin' happens, but I've no idea how long that'll take. Ya know?"

He felt himself nodding again. They were –for lack of a better term- stuck in Limbo. They knew where they were, but there was nothing there, nothing to occupy their time or give them direction.

Owen scratched the back of his head and caught a brief whiff of himself in the process. He groaned internally, but did his best to keep from scowling outwardly. He needed a shower, badly.

"I should probably head home." He said. Owen pushed himself to his feet and approached the narrow couch where he'd set his clothes the day before. "Shower, check on Blue, all that jazz."

"Right," Chris sighed the word softly, "She's on her own now, isn't she?"

Owen nodded as he pulled on his jeans. They were both well aware that the young Raptor had always been apart of a group and now her three sisters were dead. The following weeks were going to be… _interesting_ to say the least, especially since the pack animal now had to deal with being alone.

Chris had been lost in her thoughts for so long, she didn't realize Owen had dressed completely. Him approaching her with his vest in his hands, but wearing everything else caught her attention.

"You gonna stop by and check on her?"

"Yeah," she nodded as she pushed herself upright. Chris didn't realize she'd taken to lying on her tabletop as she thought. "Yeah, I'll be 'round later, I suspect. I should head to the office, see how many of us are left."

Owen nodded. To her surprise, he knelt down just enough to kiss her. It lasted only a moment before he pulled back, smiled and said his farewell. Chris was smirking to herself and blushing like a teenager, but she couldn't help it. She liked Owen, a lot.

~!~

Isla Nublar was… quiet.

It was unsettling, actually. The island had once been a hub of activity. Dinosaurs roamed around the majority of the island and where they didn't, people did. Thousands of tourists, thousands of employees, tens of thousand of dinos and now there was a mere fraction of that left. It was amazing how much the overall volume of the island dipped.

No more tourists took care of any traffic around the control center because there was no one blocking you from getting into the massive visitor's building in the middle of the park. It looked like a ghost town and that was only added to by the fact that the majority of the park had been destroyed.

Roughly half of the dinosaur population was gone. It seemed a staggering number, but it was true. The Indominous had made its way through a fair amount of the valley before reaching the park and in that time killed brachiosaurs, triceratops, and every other breed people didn't know by name off the top of their heads. The numbers were still being calculated.

And roughly half of the employees were gone, too. Some had died, others were on medical leave (both physical and mental) and some simply weren't needed. As it was, _InGen_ had blacklisted the island to anyone who wasn't vital to the company. Those they needed however, included Owen, Barry, Chris and Claire along with a few random others. They were basically working with a skeleton crew because there was no need to man the kiosks, restaurants, hotel, petting zoo, or tour guides to give tours. At this point, it seemed that anyone who didn't have to maintain an animal's health or wasn't responsible for controlling the assets' containment and habitats, weren't allowed on the island.

Again, Isla Nublar had gone deathly silent. It was beyond eerie.

Chris rode down the familiar dirt roads towards the raptor paddock to check on Blue. It had been a week since the incident and evidently, Blue was beginning to realize her sisters weren't going to come out of hiding.

When she made it to the paddock, Chris saw evidence remaining of the _InGen_ soldiers and it made her stomach sink. She was instantly annoyed at nothing more than their memory. Idiots, all of them.

Owen stood over the Raptor paddock and felt his heart break the longer he did. Three of his girls were gone and Blue was alone. That didn't bode well for her mental health and it scared the handler.

They still didn't know what was going on, either. The higher-ups hadn't divulged their plans for Jurassic World. Every time he asked Claire what was happening, she always replied with _I don't know. They won't tell me anything._ Perhaps he should have been surprised, but part of him wasn't. By keeping it ambiguous, they almost guaranteed some of their labor. People who had actual patients like him, and Chris, couldn't leave. There was literally no one else in the world to take care of the animals if they did quit. So, _InGen_ did their best to keep from telling anyone whether or not they were fired, just to be sure no one left prematurely.

It had been days since the Indominous attack and things were slowly starting to come into view. With the shock of it gone, the death and destruction could be seen with a clear head. It was substantial.

Owen and Barry heard the sound of an approaching vehicle and headed towards the parking lot. Still on edge, they felt compelled to investigate to see if some of the higher-ups had finally decided to close them down. Both were relieved to see Chris.

"Hey." Owen smiled.

"Hi." She said in return.

Without bothering to hide the fact, Owen laced an arm around her back when they were close and kissed her cheek without a second thought to Barry being near. Truth was, he didn't care. On the one hand, Barry was his friend and on the other, after everything, who gives a damn if he and Chris have a thing? Honestly.

"So, how is she?" she asked when she parted from the hug she gave Barry. They'd all been through so much together, it instantly bonded them as friends.

"Lonely." Barry replied. "She's beginning to realize the others are gone."

Chris' heart sank for the Raptor. Alongside her hosts, she headed for the upper catwalk to have a look for herself.

"Are they goin' to breed new siblings for her?" she asked Owen.

"I doubt it." He said with a sigh. "She'd probably turn on them, anyway."

"Right," Chris mumbled.

He was right to be worried about them introducing anything else to Blue. This was her paddock, her home and territory and no one was allowed inside. The only reason she got on so well with her siblings was because they'd been raised together from egg to adulthood. Even if they waited until the new raptors were roughly the same size as Blue, there was a distinct possibility she'd sense something off about them, and turn anyway.

Chris watched down below, but she never caught sight of Blue. A few of the bushes ruffled and she could hear the heavy footfalls, but the raptor was nowhere near as curious as she once was, flanked by her sisters. It was sad, and Chris didn't know how she was meant to help the animal.

"You stopping by later?" Owen asked after a lengthy silence.

Chris shifted enough to look at the man beside her and noticed his smirk as he leaned against the catwalk railing.

"S'pose I can, why?"

His smile broadened and a deep chuckle left his lips. Chris rolled her eyes in response.

"I need to head out." She said as she headed once again towards the Jeep, "I still have to check on the Rex and a few other beasties, but I'll be back day after tomorrow to take her vitals."

With the vets whittled down and the injuries most of the living animals had experienced, Chris was busier than normal. She felt bad she couldn't stay and actually devote time to Blue, but the Raptor's physical health wasn't in question. She was strong, her cuts healed and she was healthy. It was only her mind that may weaken, but there was nothing Chris could do for that. And as she told Owen, Chris had to tend to animals with actual physical injuries.

Owen walked her to her car, said goodbye and continued to smirk as she drove off. When she had vanished from sight, his smile faded and he turned back to the paddock. He didn't know what to do about Blue and her behavior –or lack there of- worried him.

~!~

Later that night, Chris and Owen found themselves sitting on his dock overlooking the water. The sun was gone, the stars had finally come out and the pair of them was so thoroughly tired, it was impressive. Chris couldn't remember the last time she felt so exhausted. The last week had taken nearly everything out of her.

With a sigh, Chris fell onto her back. Her feet stayed in the water as she lay on the dock and stared blankly into the sky above. There were so many stars. They were beautiful, almost beautiful enough for her to forget everything.

"The hell are we meant to do now?" she asked with a sigh.

Owen said nothing at first and instead lay down beside her. Despite knowing the meaning behind her statement, something else immediately came to mind. He couldn't help it. Sarcasm and flirtation were his defaults.

"I can think of a few things." He said leadingly.

The tone wasn't lost on Chris. She slowly turned her head to look at the man beside her just as Owen did the same. He bore a wide smirk. Chris couldn't help the laugh that left her lips at his ridiculousness. The sound only made his smile grow.

"Perv." She mused.

Owen shrugged a single shoulder.

"It'd be a good way to pass a few hours."

Her brows rose and she snorted another laugh.

"Hours?" she giggled, "Really?"

Chris didn't bother hiding her sarcastic derision with his obvious boasting and while he knew she was teasing him, Owen didn't bother hiding his mock offense. Instead, he shoved himself up onto his elbows to look down at her. Chris met his eye and didn't bother removing her smile.

"What was that?" he asked, despite knowing exactly what she meant.

"I'm jus' sayin'… hours seemed a bit ambitious for you, no?" she continued to tease.

"Ambi… I'll show you."

He immediately lunged for her. Chris couldn't fight the laughter as he fell on top of her clumsily. Owen buried his face in the nape of her neck as he smothered her beneath his massive frame. He growled, made ridiculous noises and acted like a complete fool which only encouraged Chris' laughter.

She squirmed beneath him and shoved uselessly at his barrel chest.

"Get off me, ya idiot." She laughed.

Owen pulled back, but remained over her. He grinned down at the young woman less than a foot from him.

As they stared at one another -still wearing their smirks- the same feelings that had been growing between them the majority of their time knowing one another resurfaced. Without bothering to ask or give her any indication to what he planned, Owen leaned forward and kissed her. Chris reciprocated without a second thought.

Just like before, passions between them grew quickly and soon they were pawing at one another. Before he could be swept away in the moment, Owen pulled away. Chris didn't have a chance to ask why before he acted.

Owen shot to his feet and dipped down. In one swift action, he grabbed Chris by the wrist, pulled her to her feet, and -to her shock- threw her over his shoulder. She couldn't fight the surprised squeak that left her lips, but she didn't stop him.

"Where are we going?" she finally managed to ask as she was taken away from the water.

"We're taking this party inside."

Heat filled her face and her body began to tingle.

" _Finally,"_ Was all she could think.

 **AN:** I am so, so, so, soooo sorry it took forever for me to actually write a chapter. Seriously. So sorry, but writer's block is a bitch. I mean, really. I was stumped, totally and completely. Now, before anybody gets their pitchforks because of where I ended it, I did that on purpose. I wanted to know how far or "in depth" you wanted the next chapter with them to get? Everyone's taste is different, yes, but I use you guys as a guide for my ideas. So, just let me know and I'll hopefully have the final chapter up in about a week. Thanks for reading and sticking with it! Let me know about the next chapter. Thanks!


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

No sooner than Chris' feet touched the floor inside Owen's trailer was she pushed up against some wall. The shock of it meant nothing. Within seconds, they were pawing at one another.

Owen gathered as much of her shirt as he could and began to lift it while Chris struggled to unbutton his. Their actions were clumsy and frenetic, but neither cared. They were both simply grateful to be in the situation they were and wanted to get as far as possible as fast as possible considering every other time had been interrupted.

When forced to break to remove her shirt, Owen took the chance to strip himself of everything else. Again, he wanted to be quick, and Chris seemed to share his concern, but her shorts were much easier to deal with.

While he struggled with his belt and his impressively tight jeans, Chris kicked off her sandals and slipped off her shorts with little effort, leaving herself standing in nothing more than her underwear. The sight caused Owen to pause for a moment. He was more than willing to ogle her choice of attire, and she noticed.

Smiling to herself, Chris snapped her fingers and jolted Owen out of his delirium. His eyes shot to hers.

"You plan on starin' the whole time, or what?" she openly teased.

A wicked smirk soon graced his lips. Without another word, Owen stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. He dipped down and kissed her deeply. As he had before, Owen lifted Chris into the air and pushed her against the same wall she'd previously occupied. She clung to his bare shoulders while he gripped her panties and yanked. The thin fabric gave way easily under the sharp action, but she didn't notice it in the least. She noticed nothing until he pressed into her.

Chris' head fell back against the wall as she let out a pleasure-filled cry at the feeling. Owen growled deeply in his throat. His grip on her backside tightened to the point bruises would likely form, but he wasn't going to stop, even if his mind was racing. Too many times they'd been interrupted before and he wasn't going to risk it again, not when he'd finally gotten to 'feel' her.

Her nails dug into his shoulders as Owen began to move. Chris' eyes fluttered shut and she let herself be engulfed by him completely. Each thrust elicited a small, whimpering moan from her, but it was the best she could manage. Her mind was gone, clouded by the desire he brought out in her.

Owen's patience, unfortunately, began to grow thin. He wanted more, _needed_ more than he was able to get in their current position. Ordinarily, it was one of his favorites, but in truth, his body seemed unable to work properly.

In order to hopefully give his brain a chance to clear- though he doubted it- Owen spun on the spot and back-stepped into his couch where he fell into a seat. Chris let out another cry. She buried her face in the nape of his neck as she struggled to breathe. She felt him completely now.

Eventually, when her heart calmed as much as it could and her body was again under her control, Chris leaned back. She looked down into Owen's face. His lids were heavy, his pupils dilated and he was as filled with lust as she was. It gave her the courage to finally move. Slowly but surely, Chris lifted herself onto her knees.

Her jaw went slack and her eyes fluttered shut at the feeling. Her fingernails bit angrily into his shoulders, but neither of them noticed. They simply didn't care.

When she reached the tip, Chris began to lower herself at the same agonizingly slow pace. She'd been unprepared for Owen. He was a large man, larger than she expected, and it had been a long while since she'd slept with anyone. In point of fact, she hadn't had sex since moving to Isla Nublar, and a bit longer. In total, it was over a year, and she felt she was 'paying' for it.

Chris clutched at Owen, wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him close. She tried to breathe, but it came out as little more than strangled gasps. Owen's hands held her hips tightly and together, they gained strength.

Soon, their confidence returned and together they worked towards their end. Eventually, Chris moved against him with power and determination. Owen happily met her in stride. He planted his feet firmly against the floor and leaned back as much as possible just to watch. Chris moved with precision and he reaped the benefits.

She gasped and moaned with each thrust. Chris felt her mind becoming increasingly blank and knew her end was coming. Owen seemed to sense the same and worked harder, faster to get her there. Within seconds it seemed, Chris cried out.

Her orgasm washed through her like a tidal wave. Her body trembled and shook as she clung to Owen. He didn't stop, however. He couldn't. He was too close to his end and at feeling her channel clamp down around his most sensitive appendage, he was pushed over the edge as well.

The pair held each other tightly for what felt like an eternity, waiting for their bodies to calm. When they did, Chris pulled back just enough to look down at the man beneath her. A heavy smile touched her lips and she cocked a single brow.

"Hours, hm?" she teased.

Owen chuckled deeply.

"We're just getting started." His voice was dark and twisted with lust. She had to admit, she rather liked the sound of it.

Without warning, Owen stood. Chris again squeaked at the suddenness, but again said nothing about it. Still grinning like he was plotting against her, Owen made his way towards his bedroom.

~!~

The pair laid in bed, breathing heavily, exhausted and completely -thoroughly- slated. Chris was on her stomach clutching a pillow and struggling between asleep and awake. Owen kept his word. He went for hours.

The man himself was lying beside her on his back with an arm propped up beneath his head and the other across his stomach. He was still grinning like a smug ass. Chris wanted to slap the look off his face, but she had no strength and honestly, he deserved it.

When he rolled his head to the side to look at her, Owen's gaze shifted to the pink mark across the back of her shoulder. The stitches were gone now, but the wound wasn't entirely healed yet. The Indominous attack was two or so weeks ago so the mark still looked a bit gnarly.

His smile faded as he rolled onto his side towards her. Owen reached out and tenderly touched her shoulder. His calloused digits gently traced the length of the six-inch wound.

The feeling jolted Chris out of the sleep she hadn't realized she slipped into. She breathed deep and opened her eyes to see him staring intently at the mark. Owen noticed her attention was on him.

"It still hurt?" he asked with genuine concern. He still remembered the giant chunk of glass she'd pulled out of it.

Chris shrugged gently, "Not really. I'm still on some painkillers, nothin' too strong, but when I get sore from workin', they give me a break. A bit stiff, though."

"Me, or your shoulder?" he quipped.

Chris rolled her eyes, but couldn't fight the smirk as she buried her face in the pillow. Owen chuckled at her reaction to his obviously pervy joke.

"Idiot," she mumbled before removing her face from the plush surface, "Bloody idiot."

"Yeah, well," he grinned wider.

~!~

What followed between the pair could only be described as 'hot and heavy'. It seemed that every hint of attraction they once felt towards one another had not only been turned up to eleven, but now after breaking down that wall, they couldn't get enough. They were both deep in the 'exciting beginning' of whatever relationship that was growing between them, and they knew it. They just didn't care. They'd 'play' with each other as long as the other would allow it, which could be for quite awhile.

Being in the very beginning of whatever new chapter they were embarking on meant they couldn't seem to get enough. After a few short days, it became a contest to see where they could have sex and still get away with it. Chris felt like a teenager and that wasn't something she was used to, or felt with anyone else. She actually liked it, quite a bit.

The best part was, they didn't have to do anything at all, either. They actually got along and simply sitting together enjoying a beer was just as good.

But, as with all good things, this seemed to be coming to an end as well.

Word went out across the park that everything was being shut down. The assets were being moved elsewhere and everyone had to disembark Isla Nublar. When asked if anyone would have a job, the higher-ups simply replied, _if we need you, we'll call you_.

"The hell do you think they're going to do?" Owen asked.

He was lying on Chris' bed the regular way while she laid across him, stretching out horizontally across the mattress with her head on his stomach.

"Who knows?" she sighed. "I didn't think they'd be sendin' us away, though."

"Yeah," he mumbled.

Owen continued to run his fingertips along her bare arm as he thought. Both of them did, in fact, and about the same thing.

Each of them wondered what was coming next. They wondered not only if they'd have a job, but what would happen with them.

It seemed strange to wonder if you'd keep your boyfriend/girlfriend once locale changed, but it was a real concern with them. Owen would likely go back to the states where he had a place, but Chris didn't. Her last home was in Melbourne, so what then? They most definitely weren't close enough to live with one another, and Chris wasn't an American citizen. She couldn't even get a visa without a job, and she just lost that. It made them wonder if whatever they had would make it off the island with them.

They hadn't talked about it either, and neither seemed sure of how to broach the subject. They weren't really mature enough, actually.

So, instead, they pretended it wasn't there. They pretended that the next week wouldn't be the end and that was all.

They chose to ignore their problems, like real grownups, and live for the moment in their little world on the island of clouds. That's what Isla Nublar means, actually, Cloud Island.

 **AN:** I know this is very short in comparison, but I wasn't entirely certain where to take the story. I plan to pick it up when the second movie comes out and since it's being written now and in the works, I'm going to wait and see where they take it. I hope you guys enjoyed it and thanks for reading!


	14. Chapter 14

**AN:** Hey guys! Long time, no see. Here's the second part to my Jurassic World story. I don't know how many of you guys are still reading, if any, but to those who are, I hope you like it, and let me know. Enjoy!

 **Part II**

 **Chapter One**

The massive beast jolted almost violently after being stabbed with the needle. It threw its head back and cried out a loud and angry sound.

"Whoa, whoa, Chester!" Mr. Billings yelled as he held the reigns tightly.

Chris smiled lightly to herself as she tossed the spent needle aside. She patted the horse's neck while he continued to fling his head around. He was securely fastened so there was no danger to himself or anyone else, but that didn't mean she wanted his more riled than he had to be.

"Shh, shh." She said, softly patting the spot she'd stabbed only seconds before. "I know it idn't ideal, Chester, but everyone needs medicine."

He snorted and stomped, but Chester calmed about as much as a horse could. They were such frightful animals, spooked at the littlest things, and he was no different. In fact, Chester was worse. Poor thing had been sick lately and stuck with more needles than he'd probably experienced most of his life in the last month.

"I know," she sighed as she pet him gently.

With a few more reassuring pats, Chris back away. She slipped her latex gloves off and tossed them into her open tackle box.

"He might be a bit slow still, at least for the next week." She put the rest of her things away and snapped the lid shut. Gripping it tightly, she stood and faced the elderly man with a smile. "But he should be just fine."

"Thanks again, Doc." He shook her hand and smiled with relief. Chester was an older stallion and clearly meant a lot to Billings. Chris was glad she had good news to report.

"Call me if anything changes, alright?"

He gave her a nod and with a parting wave, Chris loaded up her truck, and left.

For two years now, she'd been a veterinarian. Well, in the most basic of terms, she always was, but her clientele was a great deal more… ordinary than they used to be. She'd gone from tending to ancient goliaths to treating booboos for family pets. Chris still didn't know if it felt right, or not. She liked it, always one to help an animal no matter the species, but it was most definitely a different life now.

Chris wove through the winding roads, deeper into the Rocky Mountains. Tall –unbelievably tall- pine trees scratched the sky as the climbed. Mountains rose higher, still. Her old Ford trudged along like a determined mule, stubborn, but able. It fit the rustic surroundings, and she had no need for a brand new Jeep.

She turned down a narrow dirt road and drove until the end. A bare-bones building met her eye with a trailer off to the side, massive piles of wood set up, and a man standing nearby with a rope. He saw her drive up and smiled immediately. Chris couldn't help but do the same. After throwing the truck into park, she exited.

"Hey," Owen grinned as he approached her.

"Hi, there." She smiled, grabbing her tackle box from the bed. "How's it comin'?"

"It's coming." He said with a sigh. "I need to haul a bunch of those planks onto the roof so I can… build a roof." He replied with a slightly sarcastic shrug. "I mean, unless you want a skylight?"

"One hell of a skylight." She laughed. There wasn't a single board up yet, just the frame. "Great for the stars, not for the winter."

"Riiiiight." He nodded. "It snows here."

"A bit." She said, shaking her head at him.

With a smirk, Owen leaned forward and gave her a soft kiss. "How's Chester?"

"Good." She handed off the box when he reached for it and the two headed for the trailer. "He's on the mend now. I think the infection's gone."

"Chest, wasn't it?"

She nodded. Treating an upper respiratory infection on a horse is taxing, especially one Chester's age. Their lungs are incredible. They'd have to be, actually, in order to support that kind of animal's ability to run.

"So, what's for dinner?" Chris asked in such a way, Owen couldn't help but eye her. "I'm famished."

"As it just so happens, I have an idea." He said. After setting her box on the kitchen table, he sauntered forward smugly. "Pizza, extra cheese, extra meat, with beer –on ice, of course-"

"Of course." She giggled.

"And a fire by the lake."

Chris let out a long, glad groan as a picture of it entered her mind. "Sounds perfect."

"Thought so."

Owner closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her, pulling Chris close and kissing her again. He didn't care that she smelled like a barnyard animal, and she was grateful.

Chris and Owen had been together for nearly three years now, ever since the "incident" on Isla Nublar. A little more than a year ago, Owen asked her to move in, surprising Chris with the thousand-acre plot of land he'd purchased in the Rocky Mountain foothills. She wasn't surprised he wanted to move out into the middle of nowhere. He talked about it constantly and their forced proximity with people after returning from the island just reminded the pair how much they preferred isolation. What did surprise her, however, was the vastness of his purchase. He went all in.

Because the two had little to nothing to spend their sizeable paychecks on (no family or external expenses, and the like) they each had a substantial savings. Clearly, Owen had no reservation about throwing down a fair percentage of his for his piece of heaven.

Chris was only too happy to tag along.

!

Without the light pollution of any nearby city, the stars looked like a million lights just out of reach. The bugs and animals of the woods were calling out, chirping and crunching through the brush, and the fire crackled. It was perfect and peaceful, but every once and a while, Chris longed to hear a brachiosaur, that drawn out, haunting wail that traveled for miles.

"Stop it."

Chris jolted back into the moment. She flinched and looked over at Owen. He was staring out at the water with an even, borderline annoyed expression.

"What?" she asked.

He glanced to her briefly out of the corner of his eye. "Stop thinking about it." He said.

Chris tensed her jaw and chewed briefly on the inside of her cheek. "I don't know what you're talking about." She grumbled.

"Yeah, you do." He said in agitation. "Look, I know you miss the island, I miss it too, but it's not our responsibility anymore."

She shook her head, her attention out on the landscape instead of on the man beside her. "It feels wrong." She admitted. "I know it's nothin' more than Mother Nature fixin' what InGen did, but…" she ran her bottom lip through her teeth and shook her head disappointedly again. "They didn't ask to be created and now that they've got all the want out of 'em, they're just gonna let them die. It idn't right."

"I know." He sighed. Owen reached over and wrapped his arm around her, pulling Chris to his side. "I know."

The two fell into another silence, both thinking about everything happening on Isla Nublar. Chris knew Owen missed it, too. She knew he missed Blue. How could he not? He raised her. She was as much a child to him as anyone else who raised something from infancy that wasn't, in fact, a human.

Until word spread that the volcano had turned active, Owen and Chris were content to let sleeping dogs lie. Until then, there was no reason to worry about them because they were being left alone, once more. They could live their lives without interference. Until that fucking volcano woke up, everything was fine, but once word spread, the fear followed.

But what were they supposed to do? Neither of them had the means to save every last dinosaur, and even if they did, where would they put them? It wasn't as though they could bring that many dangerous animals to the mainland. There'd be nothing to stop them once they got here.


	15. Chapter 15

**AN:** Fairly short, but I'm still trying to get back in the swing of things. I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think. Thanks!

 **Chapter Two**

When Chris awoke the following morning, she wasn't surprised to find her bed empty. It'd become common for Owen to wake up as early as possible and sit on the back porch of the cabin to watch the sun rise over the mountains. Plus, whether he'd admit it or not, she was fairly certain he was incapable of sleeping past six am. She assumed it had something to do with his military past.

After making a pot of coffee and putting on her robe, Chris emerged from the trailer with two steaming cups. As she thought he'd be, Owen was sitting at the edge of the porch with his feet hanging off staring adoringly into the horizon. She smiled lightly to herself and joined him.

"What's the plan today?" she asked as she sat beside him, handing off his mug of coffee.

"Roof." He replied. "I'll haul some boards up there and start nailing them into place. You wanna give me a hand?"

"Can't." she told him.

"Thought you didn't have any patients the rest of the week?"

"I don't, but we need more potable water, the propane tank's been low for nearly two weeks, and we need diesel for the generator."

Owen flinched slightly at her mildly accusing tone. Even though she bore a smile, it was clear she was blaming him for their dwindling supplies, and she was right to. He'd promised numerous times to take care of it, but the chores inevitably slipped his mind.

"I was totally going to do that today." He told her.

"Right," Chris giggled. Mundane chores were never Owen's strong suit.

After finishing their coffee and other typical morning routines, Owen helped Chris load the bed of her truck and she set off towards town. They may live out in the sticks, but that wasn't entirely a bad thing. A lot of people around here did, which meant their supplies were easier to come by than they would be most other places. The only time-consuming factor was the drive.

~!~

The entire drive home, Chris was conflicted. While having the propane tank filled –a process which doesn't take long, but there is a wait- she got a phone call.

Calls from numbers she doesn't have saved in her phone aren't entirely unheard of. Half of her business if through word-of-mouth, so new clients may dial her up out of the blue for help or to schedule a check-up for their animals, so she answers them without reservation because of it. This phone call, however, was not that.

 _"My name is Eli Mills,"_ he told her. _"I work on behalf of Mr. Lockwood and his company. I was hoping I could speak with you for a few minutes, Doctor Pratt."_

Chris knew who Benjamin Lockwood was. If anyone in the park worked above a level two, they knew the name and knew he helped begin the whole thing alongside Hammond. Being a vet, Chris was level three clearance, Owen had level three as well, but there were those like Claire –for example- who had level four. Chris was fairly certain there were a handful of employees in the park that were level five, too.

So yes, she knew the name. She'd never met him, however.

The brief conversation she had with Mills stuck with her long after the phone call ended. Lockwood wanted to save the dinosaurs on Isla Nublar. He wanted to take them to another island, one without a volcano dormant or otherwise, where they could live out their lives in peace. Having worked with many of the species, being one of the few paleo-vets in the world, and a former employee of the park, he told her that she was exactly someone he needed.

She couldn't express how tempting the offer was. Chris felt somehow responsible for the animals, even though they weren't her creation. They didn't ask to be made, but they were. Didn't that make them man's responsibility now? If something so simple as moving them to a sanctuary could be done, shouldn't they try?

But on the other hand, man had been proven time and time again, to be the idiots. Should animals like them, creatures mankind has happily exploited for decades, be allowed to continue on so someone else later on can try and pick up where the park left off? Surely, letting Mother Nature restore the balance was the right thing to do. They should let the volcano wipe the slate clean again, destroy every trace of the park and what it created.

So why did the thought bother her so much?

As Chris pulled up to the "house", she began to slow. There was another truck there, one she didn't recognize, but that held little of her attention. Standing with Owen only a few feet from the hood of said truck was the familiar coppery hair of someone she did know. And Owen was angry. Even without hearing the conversation, she could tell. His face was stern and his hands were firmly planted on his hips. It took a lot to anger Owen Grady, but if one person could, it was Claire.

Chris slowed and finally stopped, throwing the Ford into park when the pair looked at her, giving Chris all the proof she needed that Ms. Dearing had found them.

"Damn it." Somehow, Chris already knew what this was about. The phone call and Claire's visit was too much of a coincidence.

Claire shifted anxiously on her feet as Chris approached the pair. They'd obviously had a heated argument that was only brought to a halt because of Chris' arrival. It wasn't resolved.

"Doctor Pratt." Claire greeted in her same uncomfortable way. Despite wearing a more relaxed wardrobe more than before, Claire never seemed completely at ease around Chris.

"Ms. Dearing." she gave the redhead a soft nod. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"

Neither of them spoke for a moment or two, instead staring at one another in silence. It was as though they were waiting for the other to offer the information. Finally, Owen chimed in, though it wasn't what Claire wanted to hear.

"She was just leaving." He said sternly before turning his back and heading into the trailer. He slammed the door behind him.

Claire's head fell with a heavy sigh. Gradually, she looked to Chris. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Chris never understood why Claire had such trouble speaking to her after the incident. Before then, Dearing was more than happy to bark orders at her, but now she seemed incapable of the simplest bit of conversation. She always looked at Chris like she was hiding something, or embarrassed, and the Aussie didn't know why.

"You're here to bring 'im back to the island, aren't ya?" Chris finally said in a low, but mildly concerned voice.

Claire flinched and her brows tugged together. "How do you know about that?"

She wasn't trying to be insulting, but the tone was natural for the way Claire spoke. As a result, Chris arched a single brow.

"Yer man Mills called me." She explained. "He's hopin' I'd come help with the retrieval since I worked at the park and with half the beasties there." Chris ran her fingers through her hair, ruffling it back and squaring herself on Claire. "They want Owen too, don't they?"

Claire chewed on the inside of her cheek briefly, silently steeling herself for the answer. "Yes," she nodded. "Blue's alive." Chris let out a relieved sigh, but it was weighted with the reality that Clue was still in danger. "And Owen's the only one she trusts. No one can get within a mile of her." Claire stepped closer and took on a pleading tone. "Talk to Owen, please? Tell him… tell him how important this is."

Chris was still conflicted over her own decisions, too much so to try and force someone else into making up their minds, but she nodded regardless. Not long after, Claire told her about the charter plane in Costa Rica that would take them onto the island, that both of them were welcomed, and left.

"Shit," Chris grumbled to herself as Claire drove away.


	16. Chapter 16

**AN:** Loooong, but hopefully that'll make up for the previously shorter chapters. Let me know what you guys think and, as always, enjoy!

 **Chapter Three**

Chris had been lying in bed awake for the last fifteen minutes or more, propping her head up to look down the straightaway in the center of the trailer to see Owen at the kitchen table. He'd been watching old videos of the girls for some time now, so lost in his own thoughts that she was fairly certain he didn't realize she was there.

They spoke at length after Claire left. Somehow, it turned into an argument and neither of them was entirely certain how. They weren't even yelling at each other about anything specific. They were just yelling. It was cathartic in a way, however. They were both so on edge and their nerves were so frayed with thoughts of what was happening on Isla Nublar that yelling like a pair of assholes seemed to actually help.

Eventually, she rose and made the short journey to him. Chris reached out and touched his shoulder. Owen practically leapt out of his skin, instantly slamming his laptop shut as though he'd been watching something indecent.

"Oh, hey," he said, trying to sound calm and collected. "Can't sleep?"

Chris said nothing at first, instead she slid into his lap. Owen let a hand rest on her knee while the other cradled the small of her back. Chris hooked one of her arms around his neck and smiled when he smiled at her, but she knew how sad he felt.

Sitting to the side, at an angle to the computer, Chris opened it easily, revealing a freeze-frame shot of Blue and her sisters as babies. She felt a twinge of sadness at the sight of all four of them together.

"It's okay to be sad." She told him, turning her attention back to Owen. His gaze was still locked firmly to the screen. "And it's okay to want to save her."

He shook his head loftily. "They weren't s'posed to be here." He said. "The volcano needs to do its job."

"You don't believe that." She told him. Owen looked up, finally meeting her eye. "At least not completely."

"How would you know?" he asked a little meaner than he meant to.

She arched a delicate, warning brow. "Because you're not an asshole." Chris sighed. She reached up and gently cradled his stubble-ridden cheek and forced as warm a smile as she could. "If you want to go, we'll go. You wanna stay, I'm with ya. Okay?" he nodded solemnly. Chris leaned forward and gave him a kiss before standing and making her way back to bed.

She felt like she had to give Owen a choice, despite already knowing what the end result was, even if he didn't. In an hour or so, he'd most likely tell her that he wanted to make the trip to the island and she'd pull out the two bags she had packed for them. She packed while he was still outside stewing by the fire because deep down, she knew his mind was already made up. It helped her do the same.

Owen, still sitting at his computer, looked back over his shoulder to see Chris wiggle her way beneath the covers. With the glow of the fire outside and the one coming from his laptop, he could see her clear enough.

He was scared. He was scared about a number of things and not entirely sure how to conquer it in order to do what needed to be done. The entire venture to the island would be hazardous, no matter how many precautions were taken, and the last time he was there with Chris and Claire, people got hurt. Hell, whenever he saw that gnarled scar on Chris' shoulder, he had flashbacks of pulling that chunk of glass out of her. And this time, there was an active volcano involved.

Some might think his pessimistic for always assuming the worst, but Owen knew he was nothing more than a realist.

Taking hold of the leather cord around his neck, Owen pulled it out of his shirt. It was as much a necklace as he was willing to wear, and was surprised he hadn't taken it off in three years. Not really, at least.

The weight at the end was finally freed from his shirt. It was a tooth, a rather large tooth, that used to sit comfortably within Echo's mouth. After Chris yanked it out of the raptor's jaw, she gave it to him and he kept it. At first, it was something cool to hold onto. Now, it was a souvenir, a piece to remember the girls by.

He had it fastened ingeniously to a loop that let him wear it like a charm, but, despite the ache it caused him to see, it wasn't the only thing that held his attention. Dwarfed by the enormous incisor was a ring. It was silver and old –an actual antique he found looking for tools at Goodwill. He thought the fact that it had a black pearl in the middle instead of a diamond made it a much better match for the woman sleeping a few feet away.

With a sigh, Owen dropped the necklace and let it fall back against his chest with a subdued thud. Too much. There was too much going on at once and it threatened to rip his head in two.

* * *

A loud rustle and a nearby argument woke Chris and Owen with a start. The two shot up and through bleary eyes, looked around. Claire's confused face was the first thing they fell to.

"Owen," she sounded surprised. "Doctor Pratt… you came."

"Took you long enough to get here." He replied.

Two others soon boarded, a young woman with glasses and an annoyed expression, and a young man sporting his own frames, nearly shaking in his boots. One was clearly prepared for the adventure while the other was dreading it.

"This is Zia Rodriguez," Claire said, pointing to the annoyed young woman. She leaned forward and shook Owen's hand because he was the closest. Owen used the chance to slide into one of the remaining seats while Chris stretched on the bench where they'd been sleeping. "And Franklin Webb, our systems analyst. Guys, this is Owen Grady and Doctor Chris-"

"Oh my god," Zia interrupted, drawing attention to herself. Her eyes were on Chris and filled with something along the lines of excitement. "You're Doctor Pratt, aren't you?" Chris had been in the process of twisting her back to relieve the tension when she'd apparently been spotted. Her eyes were wide as they darted around the people staring back at her. "Christiana Pratt."

"Uh," she wasn't entirely certain how to proceed, but that was indeed her name. "Yeah."

"Oh my god," Without warning, Zia pushed passed Claire and Owen to take her seat beside Chris. The Aussie jumped a little and tried to keep some space between her and the stranger. "I've read all your papers, _The Adaptive Abilities of the Genetically Engineered Reptile and Other Cold-Blooded Creatures,_ uh… _Tribal Structure Developed Through Natural Inclusion versus Forced Proximity_ and um, um, um," she snapped her fingers each time she uttered the filler word as her brain clearly tried to think of another title, "Oh! And _The Effects of Long-term Exposure to Foreign Stimuli and Possible Side Effects on the Modern Ecosystem."_

Chris stared at Zia's giddy excitement with, well, she wasn't sure. She had no idea how to process someone telling her they'd read her papers, let alone know them well enough to spout their titles.

"You're part of the reason I wanted to become a paleo-veterinarian."

Chris's brows rose high in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah," she exclaimed happily. "You're one of like… five people who have ever gotten the chance to work with the dinosaurs up close and personal. Did you know they site your research at Cornell?"

"They do?"

"Heavily," Zia said as though it should have been obvious. "You're the only one who's worked with these creatures that's _actually_ published anything."

That shocked Chris more than she thought it would. Not only was her work the basis of a class in a similar field at a high-ranking university, but no one else she worked with published papers? That seemed odd. She knew those in the genetics labs couldn't because they were working on top secret properties that were –at the time- owned by InGen, but her colleagues didn't, either? As an academic, that was just strange.

But as she thought about it, the more Chris began to swell with pride. That meant she was the leading expert in actual dinosaurs in the world.

With a beaming smile, she turned to Owen. He was smirking at her, his brows rising. "I'm famous." She giggled.

Owen snorted a small laugh and shook his head at her. A moment later, the captain called out and told them they were about to take off and make the small trip to Isla Nublar.

As they buckled their seatbelts, Zia immediately launched into a multitude of questions she had for Chris. There were so many, the Aussie actually had trouble keeping up.

* * *

When they finally made it to the island and exited the puddle-jumper plane, it was disconcerting to see how many people in uniforms there already was. It made Chris instantly nervous. She shot Owen a sideways glance. He seemed to agree with her. The last time this many men in tactical gear road up on Isla Nublar, bad shit followed.

"You must be the raptor wrangler." A deep, aged voice called out, diverting Owen's attention.

He stepped forward with an extended hand. "Animal behaviorist." He corrected. "Owen Grady."

"Ken Wheatley."

"You must be the Great White Hunter."

The older man in the aviators chuckled. "Yeah, I guess so. I'm Operations Facilitator."

Owen nodded, but belief didn't touch his eyes. He'd been around men like this too often to take them at their word.

"And you, miss?" Ken asked Chris.

"Chris Pratt." She shook his hand. "I used to be Blue's doc."

"Ah, you must be the vet that used to work here."

She nodded. Something in her gut twisted, and she didn't know what. There was a feeling of dread, but its origin could stem from too many places to nail down, which only made her anxious.

"I never thought I'd be back here again." She said softly. Owen heard her.

"Yeah," he mumbled. "Neither did I."

* * *

Time was of the essence. As a result, Wheatley wasted none of it gathering up a few troops armed to the teeth, and those who'd just arrived on the island. Inside one of the transpo trucks rested the crew, Wheatley, and two other men.

Franklin had a bottle of insect spray and was dousing himself in it. Chris wasn't entirely certain where it came from, but it didn't seem to be enough. The computer nerd was swimming in it, to the point it dripped from his arms. He offered it to the others, polite young man, but no one partook. Most of the others –if not wearing some already- knew that mosquitos were the least of their worries.

"So," he chimed. The truck had been incredibly quiet up until that point. "The T-Rex is dead, right?"

Chris couldn't help herself and scoffed, snorting a small laugh under her breath that didn't go unheard. Franklin shot her a scared look.

"What?" he asked.

"She's the original." Chris replied. "That Rex has been a part of this universe since day one. She's survived two parks, untold number of fights against larger, much angrier beasts, and thrived in no matter the environment." A smirk took her lips. "She probably runs this island."

He'd lost a shade of color during her declaration, but it was true. Chris somehow knew that Rex was going to outlive everyone.

"So… that's a yes."

"Not necessarily." Zia said. "There's no way to know the life expectancy of a clone. Take, for example, a caveman who would've lived until he was twenty. Put him in an environment where he has access to top-notch healthcare and prime meals, and he'll probably live five times what he would've before."

As he had when Chris spoke, Franklin seemed paler. He shook his head, clearly trying to do his best to ignore everything the two experts had said, and came to his own conclusion.

"She's dead." And he smiled, as though that little bit of denial would help him.

Owen glanced to Chris with a grin, one she returned when she caught his eye. The poor tech had no idea what he was in for. As far as predators went, the T-Rex was the least of their worries.

* * *

Arrangements were soon made when the convoy made it to the bunker. Claire and Franklin remained behind for support while Chris, Owen and Zia left alongside the soldiers. Wheatley attempted to get Zia to stay behind, but she held her own against him. It made Chris smile a little to herself. She didn't exactly need Zia's help to care for Blue if something was indeed wrong, but she knew the young woman would appreciate the chance to see the raptor. Besides, two doctors are better than one.

Owen was outside the truck after they stopped, walking through the now-untamed jungle looking for Blue. Chris couldn't stay calm. While she didn't think the raptor would hurt Owen given their history, years had passed. Blue might be an intelligent creature, but there's always the chance that her memories of him faded. The only thing that helped calm her was scent-memory. Memories tied to that particular trait lasted the longest, like when you smell salty air as an adult and it instantly reminds you of the time you were at the beach as a kid. Same principal. She just hoped Blue remembered that his smell meant good things.

Suddenly, there was yelling. Owen's angry voice met her ear and without hesitation, Chris and Zia raced out from the safety of the truck. Men were surrounding Owen and Blue when they made it to the clearing. There was a gunshot… Blue fell… Wheatley shot Owen… Owen collapsed.

Chris had trouble comprehending what she was seeing. It was happening too fast to be absorbed.

"Owen!" she cried out, racing for him despite the men with guns. She fell to his side and yanked the dart from his chest, tossing it elsewhere. Her fingers immediately found his carotid artery. His heartbeat was there, but it was slow. "Are you insane?!" she yelled at Wheatley. "Those bloody things're made fer hundred-ton animals!"

"Don't make me shoot you, too, Doc." Wheatley said far too calmly.

Zia suddenly produced a gun and aimed it at him while Blue continued to writhe on the floor. Seeing that Owen was about as safe as he could be, Chris scrambled to the dino's side. Blood poured from the wound in her gut.

"Oh my god," she breathed. Chris immediately pressed her hand against the wound as she did her best to get her backpack off. There had to be something inside that would help.

"You need us, both of us." Zia told Wheatley and his men as she held a gun at him. "Without us, Blue is going to die, and you know it."

Reluctantly, he and his men lowered their weapons. "Tell ya what." He said. "That raptor dies, and I'll shoot both of you. Got me?"

Still trying to remain as strong as she could in the moment, Zia nodded and dropped her gun. She raced to Chris's side.

"I need bandages." Chris said desperately. "Anything to cover this, help stop the bleedin'."

Zia did as she was told, tearing through her bag and Chris's for anything she could find. Thankfully, they'd packed rudimentary supplies in case Blue had cuts of scrapes.

Zia wadded up as much gauze as she could and slid it under Chris's palm. Chris held in in place while Zia looked for something to tape it down with. Meanwhile, Chris kept her eye on Owen. She could see his chest rise and fall at a steady rhythm. It was an encouraging sight and helped her calm just a bit. Not much, but a little.

The sound of duct tape brought her back. Zia had found some somewhere, and was ripping long strips off the roll. Together, they affixed the saturated gauze to the animal's body.

"Let's move out!" Wheatley commanded.

Men mobilized around them, doing whatever they were supposed to do while the two doctors worked. They barely had the chance to tape it off entirely before men grabbed Blue, lifting her and jostling her from side to side as they tied her limbs.

"Be careful with her, asshole!" Zia yelled angrily while Blue whimpered and cried from pain.

Unable to tend to the dino much more than she already had, Chris again darted to Owen's side. She knelt by him, patting his cheeks with bloody hands.

"Come on," she said, trying to her best to rouse him. "Wake up, ya lazy ass." But Owen wouldn't even stir. Her anxiety was taking over. They had to go, now, and he wasn't moving. "Come on!" she snapped, slapping his hard enough his cheek turned pink, but still there was nothing.

"Grab her."

Chris barely heard Wheatley speak, or cared to notice what he said until arms wrapped around her body, lifting her off the ground. The realization of what was happening hit her like a ton of bricks.

"No," she said, fighting against the man pulling her back to the truck. No one was helping Owen. "No!" Suddenly aware that they planned to leave him behind to die, Chris became feral. She kicked, screamed, and clawed at the soldier trying to control her. "NO!" she screamed. "Owen! Wake up!" Another man grabbed her, hooking his arm beneath hers while the other took the left. Still, she fought. "NO! You can't leave him! Owen! OWEN!"

He was getting further and further away. Tears stung her eyes. Fear, pure and primal, surged within her. They couldn't leave him behind. They had to get him.

"Let go of me!" she screamed, her voice turning shrill as she did. Chris twisted and kicked like a madwoman. "Let me g-"

Something smashed into the back of her head, hard and unyielding. Chris struggled to keep her eyes open, struggled to keep the blackness from taking her vision, but it didn't work. Whether she wanted to or not, she fell unconscious, her body limp and pliable after Wheatley bashed her in the back of the head with the butt of his gun.

"'Nough of that." He sighed. "Let's go!"

And with that, the convo departed.


	17. Chapter 17

**Part IV**

Chris awoke in the back of the truck with a frightened Blue and panicked Zia. Her head ached and when she touched it, she drew back blood-tipped fingers. She didn't have to be a genius to know what happened, nor did it really matter.

As she stood over the raptor with her hands planted firmly over the bleeding wound, Chris stared into nothingness. She felt hollow, empty inside. Tears had streamed down her face long ago, staining her cheeks as they did. To Zia, Chris was sure she looked like a zombie. What else would someone think when the person they're trying to interact with is completely silent?

All she could think about was Owen lying in the brush and on the cold ground, unconscious and unmoving as streams of lava flowed. She could only imagine him being engulfed in the fire without knowing it, left to die because he'd gone to help, and then the tears would come again.

This was all her fault, she had no delusions. Chris knew she helped push Owen towards coming to the island one last time, and this was what happened. He died. He'd fucking died, and it was her fault.

Chris finally broke down. Her head fell and she began to shake, crying once again. Isla Nublar was cursed. It stole everything from you after filling you with a false sense of calm and comfort, then it ripped it away. She should have known better.

"Hey," Zia said softly, drawing Chris' attention. Gradually, she lifted her head to see the young woman staring mournfully back at her. "It's going to be okay, okay?"

Chris didn't have the heart to tell her otherwise because she knew Zia wasn't that stupid, but she gave her a gentle nod.

As Blue shook and trembled, too, Chris did her best to reassure her, but there was little in it. Chris simply didn't have the heart. It felt as though she was reserved to their fate, too.

The flap to the back of the truck suddenly swept open, revealing Owen, Claire, and Franklin. His eyes fell to Chris the moment he was in the truck and she breathed immediate relief. All the air in her lungs fled her the instant he appeared. She wanted to race forward and hug him, but she couldn't so long as her hands were holding Blue's wound. Thankfully, Zia seemed to sense as much and took her place. The instant Chris' hands were free, she raced for Owen.

Chris clung to him, throwing her arms around him, and holding him so tightly it hurt. She buried her face into the base of his neck, almost afraid it wasn't real.

"Oh my god," her voice shook as she spoke. "I thought I'd lost you."

"Hey, hey," he cooed softly, hugging her just as tightly as she did him. Owen felt her tremble in his arms and it scared him. She was clearly upset, and overwhelmed. "It's okay." He said. "I'm here."

Chris struggled to hold onto the tears she'd been keeping back, but they came regardless of her wishes. Owen held her, rubbing her back reassuringly before cradling the back of her head. He felt something sticky and damp the instant Chris hissed in pain and moved out of his arms. Worried, Owen glanced down to his now-bloody hand. A look of pure rage took his face as he met her stare again.

"What happened?" he asked in a tone to match.

"Don't really know." She admitted. "They tried takin' me back to the ship, fought 'em, then everything went black."

"Wheatley." Zia said angrily. "He hit her in the back of the head."

Owen's angry gaze shifted to her again. She could tell he wanted to beat, if not kill the man, and a part of her was grateful for it. She thought it was a little sweet, actually.

Blue soon drew everyone's attention for obvious reasons. She was still in so much pain that she could do little more than whimper and shake. It was heartbreaking to see such a strong animal reduced to little more than a frightened mouse.

The five of them discussed their situation and the dire one with Blue.

"We need a transfusion." Chris said, "But the two of us couldn't do it."

"What do you need?" Owen asked.

"Blood." Zia said. "Lots of it, from another predator, one with two fingers, maybe three. No more than three. I can't get the bullet out without it."

"The T-Rex." Owen said with a dower expression.

Chris couldn't fight the small scoff of a laugh that left her lips when he mentioned her. The others looked at the Aussie curiously.

"Of course she's here." She said. "That ol' girl'll never die."

A few of the others managed a weak smile at best. Chris just found it funny, a small bit of levity in the moment. Good for her, though. That Rex has been through it all. She deserves to live.

With her hands now free, Chris gathered the supplies they'd need to draw the blood from the T-Rex. She knew she'd have to go because she was the most capable, but the second was up for debate, until Owen volunteered. Perhaps she wasn't surprised he offered.

Together, the two of them snuck out of the truck and through the shipping containers that held a multitude of animals.

"I'm sorry." Chris said, seemingly out of nowhere as she and Owen ducked behind a truck to avoid some people walking.

He looked at her curiously and noticed she had tears in her eyes again. "For what?" he asked.

Chris shook her head as it dropped. She bit down on her bottom lip to try and keep it from quivering, but it barely worked.

"I never should've told you to take the bloody job." She told him before daringly meeting his gaze. "You almost died, an' it's my fault."

"No," he shook his head and reached for her. Wrapping his arms around Chris, he hugged her as best he could given their confined space. "It wasn't your fault, okay? I would've come no matter what."

Chris let out a long breath as she clung to him. "I almost lost ya." She said in that same sad tone. "I can't do that again."

Owen squeezed her once more and kissed the side of her head. "I'm not going anywhere."

When the two parted, she smiled as best she could, and he did the same. Owen reached up and tenderly wiped the tears from her cheeks before kissing her.

"Come on." He said. "Let's get this over with."

With a nod, Chris followed him the rest of the way. It was surprisingly easy to find the Rex.

He opened the heavy door revealing the slumbering beast within. She was formidable, to say the least. Carefully and quietly, the two climbed into the container, and closed the door behind them as best they could.

"We have to be fast." She said, stating something she knew Owen was well aware of.

"Yeah," he mumbled.

They squeezed into a small spot together, just beside the Rex and the wall. Chris felt around and finally found a vein that would work.

"Put yer hands here." She said, guiding them into place. "And push as hard as ya can."

Owen nodded. Bracing himself against the container wall, Owen pushed his hands into the animal's neck. He felt her pulse through her thick skin and felt the blood begin to pool behind his touch. When it gave Chris a clear sight of the vein, she readied her bag.

The T-Rex's skin was roughly three inches thick. She thanked whoever was smart enough to pack proper supplies because they needed a needle as thick as an icepick to go through it, and they had it.

"One, two, three."

On three, she slammed the needle into the animal's throat. It shifted, growled in its sleep, and rolled its head before settling. The two stayed remarkably still for that split second, wanting to be sure it stayed asleep.

Eventually, blood began to flow into the bag. Chris watched it impatiently. How could it move so slowly? Her attention was focused so sharply on the task at hand that she didn't notice Owen's darting gaze.

"So, uh," he said in a quiet whisper, drawing her attention. "I kinda want to talk to you."

"Now?" she asked, unable to believe the moment he chose.

"Yeah." He nodded. "It's kind of important."

"Okay. What?"

Chris looked back at the bag. It was barely half full. It was taking far too long for her liking. Even though she was well aware time seemed slower given the intense situation, she still wished it'd hurry the hell up.

"You wanna get married?"

Chris flinched and paused. Her attention suddenly left the beast, and shifted to the man at her side. Owen was still using the cage's wall as a brace and had a look of pure concentration and struggle on his face, but that seemed to barely register with her.

"What?" she finally asked.

Owen turned his attention to her and brandished his childlike half-smile. "You wanna get married?"

Chris' mouth fell slack as she thought about his question. "You're askin' me that now? Here?"

"Yeah," he shrugged. "Why not?" She arched a single brow. "I mean, I was almost burned alive by lava, nearly blown up by a volcano, we're both probably gonna be eaten any second, and," he smiled again, "This is kinda how we first met."

She couldn't help the disbelieving snort that escaped her. Chris tried to stifle her laugh and barely succeeded. The entire moment was devoid of any romance, filled with anxiety and uncertainty, they still might die, and yet, he's asking her to marry him. It seemed too ridiculous for words.

"So, what do you say?" he asked charmingly.

She only had one answer. "Of course, you idiot."

Owen's smile widened and he let out a relieved breath she thought was a little unnecessary. Of course she'd say yes, she was only waiting for him to ask.

Still holding the needle in place, she leaned over to kiss him. Owen did the same, though the action was quick.

Shaking her head in disbelief, Chris returned to the blood draw. The bag was full.

"Wait 'til I tell my mum." She said as she retrieved the needle. "How'd he ask? Well, ya see, we were in the back of ship. I was drawin' blood from this T-Rex so we could save a Raptor, hidin' out from animal traffickers when he popped the question."

Owen removed his hands from the Rex and they both made their way to the mouth of the truck. He glanced out the make sure the coast was clear before climbing down, then helping her.

"Sounds romantic to me." He said with a chuckle.

The pair returned to the truck with Blue and the others, and instantly went to work. Chris had drawn blood from the Raptor countless times and knew exactly what to do. She tapped the vein immediately and let the blood flow while Claire and Owen held her in place. Poor Franklin was too afraid to really touch her, but to his credit, he held down Blue's tail. Chris didn't have the heart to tell him that the tail was likely more dangerous than anything further north.

To her credit, Zia was a skilled surgeon. She managed to find the bullet and pull it out quickly enough. Everyone in the back of the truck breathed easier the moment they heard that clank of metal. Even Blue calmed down a little.

Blue lost a fair amount of blood throughout the ordeal, so Chris stood with the bag until it was nearly depleted. Everyone relaxed when they were as out of the woods as they could be. Franklin fell asleep almost immediately. The poor guy wasn't made for anything this exciting, that was probably why he chose a career behind a desk.

With Blue stitched up and nothing else happening for the untold hours it would take to get to the states, everyone took a seat and breathe easier.

Chris fell to the floor beside Owen. She was exhausted, to her bones, and knew everyone else felt the same. With a heavy sigh, she let her head fall onto his shoulder. She felt him kiss the top of it tenderly and she winced. It wasn't that it hurt, but her head was still a little sore.

"Oh," he said before he could drift off completely. Chris drew back and watched as he took off his necklace. She sat in shock as he unthreaded a black pearl ring and offered it to her. "I s'pose you'll be needing this."

"Oh wow," she muttered as she took it from him. She was in awe of it. "It's beautiful. How long have you had this?"

"Not that long." He said unconvincingly. She cast him a challenging stare. He cleared his throat a little before replying, "About a year."

She didn't bother hiding his surprise. "The hell took you so long?" Chris openly teased him.

"You're kinda crazy." He shot back with a smirk.

"Darling, I'm more than kinda."

He smiled and chuckled. Taking the ring from her, Owen slid it onto Chris' finger. He was surprised it fit, but glad, too. He never had it sized. For some reason, it didn't don on him to try until that moment.

"Did you guys just get engaged?" Zia asked with a mildly sarcastic grin.

"Yup." Owen smirked.

"Congratulations." Claire offered with a half-smile. Chris noticed a sad look in the redhead's eyes, something she thought out of place until it finally hit her. Holy shit. Claire had a thing for Owen. How could she not see that? Suddenly, everything snapped into place.

"Thanks," Chris told her kindly.

Slowly but surely, they all drifted off to sleep, exhausted by the day's events. They knew worse awaited them, but for those few moments they had at least some respite.


End file.
